Australian born, Judy Barnes is not only a freelance writer for magazines; she is a scriptwriter who has written documentaries for television, wildlife programmes for radio and corporate videos for giants such as Siemens, First National Bank, BAC (Business Against Crime) and Anglo American among others.
She brings her expertise on storytelling from her own acting background in theatre in Australia, as well as writing for Children’s and Industrial Theatre in South Africa. Alby James, (UK) Humphrey Barclay (UK), John Cundill (Australia - formerly RSA), Linda Aronson and Linda Seger (USA) are some of the famous names in scriptwriting with whom she has attended lectures.
Apart from being involved in various other avenues of the profession, she was also a cross-media writer for the South African Big Brother 1 and 2, where being able to report speedily was crucial. She blames any grey hairs on both of these reality television productions.
Her diverse taste of subjects has found her writing feature articles on Female Firefighters; African Traditional Healing versus Western Medicine; executive management profiles to consumer durables such as Nestlé, Kelloggs, Vodacom, MTN etc. as well as the safety of breast implants and where South Africa’s youth are destined to be in filmmaking in RSA.
Her profession can be a lonely one, so belonging to writers’ groups is essential for rubbing shoulders with those who also have to put words on paper. Judy has been a member of Writers 2000 (Johannesburg), for the past fifteen years, where she was vice-chair and chair for four years. This group focuses on novels, short stories and poetry. She is also a member of SASWA (South African Scriptwriting Association), where she sat on council for six years.
Perhaps Judy’s deepest passion is the ‘big screen.’ She is searching for funding to make two screenplays – one based on the unusual life of a friend during WW2, and the other fiction based on historical research about a Zulu girl in the 1800’s who was raised as a westerner. They both originate in South Africa – a country she believes has a plethora of fascinating stories to tell.
Judy's son has a BA Motion Picture Medium but after a stint overseas is now back on home shores seeking the 'right' job. Apply here if you need a Director or other positions required in film. The Jack Russell (Nukleuz) still thinks he owns the place and scares the wits out of the two new cats, Party-Party (don't ask) and Tuxedo (because of her markings) if they don't see him coming. Life is never dull but writing daily is all part of Judy's life scenario.
