Jacq Ellem
Jacq is a copywriter, former bookseller, occasional broadcaster and an internationally award-winning podcaster (creator, writer and narrator) of the short fiction podcast Tales from Three Corners, to be published in print by Affirm Press in December 2026. She is a literacy volunteer, hosts Murder Mondays for Sisters in Crime Australia, and is a co-host for the writerly The Word Count Podcast with Jo Dixon and Fiona Taylor. She also holds the title of Podcast Wrangler for NZ Webfest, the Chief Cat Herder and Senior Creative for an audio production company in the cloud, she was a Storyteller at Somerset Storyfest 2024, and is a 2025 KSP Fellowship awardee. Jacq lives in a wonky old cottage in Lutruwita/Southern Tasmania, surrounded by orchards, wilderness, and good people.
Praise for Tales From Three Corners
‘In an overwhelming world, Jacq Ellem’s Tales From Three Corners is a gorgeous escape. It invites you into a small town humming with life. A place where you can slow down and notice the extraordinarily ordinary micro details threaded through our lives. It breathes with warm wisdom and wit’.
-Hannah Richell
‘Cosy Tales From Three Corners gets to the heart of what it means to be human; to be part of a community and to completely embrace our quirky selves. Reminiscent of the short stories of Roald Dahl and Maeve Binchy, Ellem captures the essence of life’. -Meredith Jaffe
‘Reading this book is just like cosying up on the couch with a Whitman’s Sampler – the small joys and betrayals of life are presented in delicious, bite-sized pieces. I was taken back to a country childhood with characters both instantly recognisable and utterly surprising. Jacq Ellem has a shrewd eye for our glorious quirks: absolutely a writer to watch!’
– Hayley Scrivenor, internationally best-selling author of Dirt Town and Girl Falling
‘An absolute delight. Charming, funny and subtly poignant’.
– Alison Goodman
‘Jacq Ellem’s Cosy Tales From Three Corners is the literary equivalent of a cup of tea and a fresh-baked biscuit - warm, comforting, and perfect for a little treat. In this delightfully quirky collection, the town of Three Corners is instantly familiar, and just a little bit strange in the loveliest of ways. Don’t miss this gorgeous debut’.
– Nadia Mahjouri
‘Cosy Tales from Three Corners is utterly charming. Jacq Ellem conjures magic on the page, creating characters and a place you'll never want to leave – the literary equivalent of snuggling up beside an open fire’.
– R.W.R. McDonald
‘Welcome to the wondrous town of Three Corners, full of tender and humourous tales of the delightful and even slightly wacky people who live here. They’ll find a place in your heart and you won’t want to leave’.
– Tricia Stringer
‘I want to live in Three Corners! Jacq Ellem weaves story magic with her gentle, waggish, insightful prose and skilful celebration of the ordinary, the vaguely kooky and the delicious nostalgia that meanders through small town Australia. A balm for any world-weary soul. Thank goodness we still have books like this one!’
– Jen Storer
‘Cosy Tales from Three Corners is a warm hug of a book, filled with humour, heart and unforgettable characters. It's a beautiful reminder that everyone has an inner life and every act of kindness is an invisible string that holds a community together. I would move to Three Corners in a heartbeat.’
– Rebecca Armitage
This exquisite collection of short stories about the fantastical township, Three Corners, located on a crossroads with all the magic and mayhem that entails, is the panacea we didn't know we needed. Whimsical, quirky and utterly original, these beautifully written vignettes about life in a small town - from a dedicated postie, to a cheeky bus driver, the irrepressible Night Walkers, dogs, cats, and Steve the chook, and many more fabulous characters - can be gobbled whole or savoured bits at a time. Either way, it will soothe the soul, remind you of the strength in small acts of kindness, give you a laugh, a glimmer of recognition, and restore faith in humanity. I want to move to Three Corners ... yesterday. An utterly enchanting read.
– Dr Karen Brooks