Katherine Phelps has worked with computing as part of media production since the 1980s when she trained a team of people in how to program in order to produce an academic literary magazine. In the 1990s she organised a lecture tour by Ted Nelson, the father of hypermedia, on the emergence of electronic publishing. She wrote the book Surf’s Up: Internet Australian Style which was a nonfiction bestseller. Her website Glass Wings is one of the oldest online literary magazines in Australia.

In 2000 Phelps was awarded a PhD in storytelling for digital media with applications in journalism, literature, and computer game design. She went on to lecture at RMIT and Victoria University in this field for seven years.

Major media has been concentrated into a few hands severely distorting people’s understanding of their world. In this manner democratic debate has been stifled, thereby disempowering our public. The internet and our ability to freely discuss world and community issues in that space is critical to our collective well-being and the well-being of this planet.

Katherine Phelps is a skilled communicator and lifetime member of EFA. She will work toward ensuring our online rights are secure.