John Bartlett began writing seriously in 2000 while completing an MA in Creative Writing at Deakin University. His writing was fuelled by his previous careers as a Catholic priest in the Southern Philippines for 10 years and on leaving the priesthood variously as a kitchen hand, public housing community worker, massage therapist, film extra, in customer service for Centrelink and then as a university tutor.
When not writing John can be found gardening, walking on the beach, reading, drinking coffee in Torquay or agitating in politics and community issues.