Andra Putnis
Andra Putnis is an Australian writer working to tell powerful stories to help us better understand our world and each other. Her debut book, Stories My Grandmothers Didn’t Tell Me, reveals the incredible tales of how her two Latvian grandmothers lived through the terror of the Second World War and survived to immigrate to Australia. It was published by Allen & Unwin in July 2024 and is being published in Latvia in July 2025. She received the Canberra Critics’ Circle Award for Memoir/History for her work in 2024.
Andra is committed to sharing her experience with, and passion for, memoir, family history and narrative non-fiction storytelling. She has appeared on ABC national and local radio and been a part of many writing workshops over the years discussing tips and how to avoid pitfalls and make progress.
She completed a Bachelor of Arts / Laws at the Australian National University majoring in History in 2001 and is finalising a Masters Degree specialising in qualitative research and storytelling. She lives in Canberra on Ngunnawal country with her partner and two children.
