Tanya Heaslip

Tanya Heaslip is an author based in Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. In 2019 Heaslip released her memoir: Alice to Prague : the charming true story of an outback girl who finds adventure - and love - on the other side of the world.

Heaslip was born on Bond Springs Station in Central Australia, to Grant and Jan Heaslip, during the height of the Cold War. For her early schooling Heaslip attended school through the School of the Air before going to boarding school interstate. Following school she went on to study law and become a lawyer.

A long term fascination with Europe led to Heaslip leaving Australia to teach in the Czech Republic in 1994; with little more than a battered copy of Let's Go Europe in her backpack. Heaslip lived in the post-communist Czech Republic for two and a half years where she taught English at a high school in a town she had never heard of and with no teaching experience.

Following her return to Australia Heaslip starting writing about her experiences, and her love for the Czech people.

She now lives in Alice Springs with her Czech husband and they have made many return visits to the Czech Republic. Heaslip is now working on a new memoir about her childhood called An Alice Girl which is due to be released in May 2020.

Heaslip was interviewed about her upbringing at Bond Springs Station on ABC Alice Springs on Saturday Mornings with Rohan Barwick on 21 March 2020 ; the full interview is available here.