I’m Alexandra Collier, but because of a random kid who nicknamed me in primary school, most people call me Ally (although I always wanted to be called Alex, because it sounds cool and mysterious).

Because I am neither cool nor mysterious, I worked for a long time as a playwright. I spent a decade in New York which is a good place to write plays and burn through your savings. Some of those plays were produced Off Broadway, including Triplight, a new musical written with ARIA award-winning composer Greta Gertler Gold, at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater; Underland (59E59, Off Broadway, terraNOVA Collective), and Take Me Home (a mobile theatre piece in a New York city taxi, Incubator Arts Project).

After a soul-crushing breakup, I returned home to Melbourne and decided to become a solo mum by choice, which led to my memoir Inconceivable: Heartbreak, Bad Dates and Finding Solo Motherhood (published by Hachette in 2023). 

I have written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Harper’s Bazaar and Mamamia. 

I also write for the screen and my screenwriting has been optioned by Revlover, and I have developed shows with BBC Australia, Truce Films and Princess Pictures.

Other information that may pique your interest: I am a believer in non-traditional families, ethical donor conception and licorice (it’s delicious). For a formal, third person bio, see below. Or to book me for a speaking or writing gig or debate the merits of licorice, get in touch. 

Photo: Karin Locke

Short Professional Bio

Alexandra Collier is an award winning Melbourne writer who has written for theatre, screen and print. Her memoir Inconceivable: Heartbreak, Bad Dates and Finding Solo Motherhood about her journey to becoming a solo mum by choice was published by Hachette in 2023. She is currently a writer on the new ABC/BBC detective series Return to Paradise. Alexandra lived and worked in New York for a decade where her plays were produced Off Broadway, including Triplight, a new musical written with ARIA award-winning composer Greta Gertler Gold, at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater. In Australia, her plays have been produced and developed at Sydney Theatre Company, La Mama and the Hayes. She has written for  a range of mediums and people, including Esther Perel, Showtime (TV network),  The Guardian, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Harper’s Bazaar and Mamamia. She is a MacDowell fellow, a winner of the RE Ross Trust Playwrights Award and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.  

Solo mum by choice | Writer by design | Hanging by a thread

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