Home | Christine Newell Author and Freelance Writer

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Christine Newell

AUTHOR

FREELANCE WRITER

SPEAKER

As a non-fiction writer, Christine loves nothing more than a compelling true story and has a strong interest in writing that explores travel, wellbeing and mental health.

Her debut memoir, Five Seasons in Seoul, was longlisted for the 2024 Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize (under a different title) and was published by Affirm Press in March 2025. It was chosen as Dymocks Non-Fiction Book of the Month and was the Non-Fiction Pick of the Week in The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age Australia.

Christine has appeared on panels at the Manly Writers' Festival, the inaugural Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre of Australia. Her writing has been featured in Escape, Onya Magazine and The Age Australia.

Photo Ksenia Belova Photography

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'There are books you read, and there are books that stay with you — gently haunting you, reminding you of places you've been and feelings you thought you'd buried. Christine Newell's 'Five Seasons in Seoul' is that rare kind of memoir.'

THE KOREA TIMES

PRAISE FOR FIVE SEASONS IN SEOUL

'Thoroughly engaging memoir … with admirable ease, [Newell] vividly evokes the sights, tastes and feel of the city, ranging from the exotic to the kinky, incorporating customs, beliefs – and a little romance.'

The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2025

'The travel memoir is fast becoming one of my favourite sub-genres, and if you’re keen to enter the same lane as me, Five Seasons in Seoul is a wonderful place to start.'

The Weekend Australian Notable Books, 5 April 2025

'Five Seasons in Seoul is a sensory treat. A skilled storyteller, Newell writes with candour, humour and charm about rejection, grief, anxiety and fear – and finding yourself where you least expected.'

Ariane Beeston, author of Because I'm Not Myself You See

'There's something so comforting about Christine Newell's memoir, Five Seasons in Seoul. I don't know if it's the coming of age style story, the exotic location so perfect for armchair travel, or the way that Christine's vulnerabilities and joys mirror us all. Perhaps it's the writing that sparkles on the page, or it could be the way cultural and historical exploration is woven so gently through the narrative.'

Anne Freeman, author of Me That You See and Returning to Adelaide

'The beauty in this book is in the quiet and simple moments of Christine's memories: the joy of sharing a meal with colleagues turned friends, the lightness of an afternoon cycling in nature, the simplicity of walking around your favourite neighbourhood.'

Madeleine Cleary, author of The Butterfly Women

NEWS & MEDIA

Five Seasons in Seoul

is the Dymocks

Non-Fiction Book of the Month

March 2025

Christine chats with

Tegan Taylor about

Five Seasons in Seoul

on ABC Radio National

Christine's article on impostor syndrome and anxiety in
The Age

Five Seasons in Seoul is the

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week in The Age

STAY IN THE KNOW

Sign up to The Seasonal Traveller, a letter about moving mindfully through the seasons, creative living, travel and life as a debut author.

FOLLOW CHRISTINE ON INSTAGRAM

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