About
Hello, I’m JP. My entire mission in life is to dismantle misplaced shame.
I love to use my hands to make things and my voice to share stories with my communities. I’m grateful to be part of the rich traditions of crip pride, neuroaffirming community work, chronically fully sick folks, people living with complex trauma, disordered eating peeps, mad pride, trans liberation, bigger body neutrality and rainbow parents. My gratitude and reverence stems from belonging and community building.
I’m committed to supporting members of my communities to harness their narrative destiny. Where systems and trajectories can be largely out of our control, we can be the final boss of the alphabet on the page. We can control what the sentences say and this can open so many windows to throw light across dark places for ourselves and others.
Storytelling is medicine and community is everything. No matter what we’re going through, there are so many ways to remember that we’re not alone.
Since 2005 I’ve been involved in community broadcasting in Naarm/Melbourne. I started out at Joy Media, moving to PBS 106.7 and then Main FM after making the move to Dja Dja Wurrung Country/Castlemaine in 2014. I’m a regular contributor to Able Radio, creating audio packages from home.
Working with Powerd Media on Unmasked, and Unmasked Families (launching soon) introduced me to the wonderful world of making television (so many big scary lights). The discussions held in both of these projects with a vast array of members of the neurodivergent community are some of the most meaningful and impactful of my life.
I was a marriage celebrant for seventeen years until the pandemic hit. My time was spent writing a lot of love stories while creating and conducting rituals for couples, as well as working with Equal Love to bring in the inevitable justice of marriage equality.
Living with my family on Dja Dja Wurrung Country is my sanctuary. My wife and I have two known donor-conceived children, who are delightfully funny and kind and keep us on our toes. We also live with Cool Pavlova Peach (a golden labrador and my k9 soulmate), Mary Sweetpea (a mini schnoodle who resembles a very silly pile of wigs), Dr Flossie (elder cantankerous cat) and Clancy Claws (an eternal tabby kitten we adopted for Cool’s first gotchaversary). The dogs and cats get along famously, but Flossie hates Clancy. They keep their distance from one another, and it’s fine.
Our experiences of being nurtured by community in the time of creating our family led to my first book, You’ll Be a Wonderful Parent. Published by Hardie Grant in 2023, this set some wheels in motion that led to big changes and I now work in writing and broadcasting, offering mentoring and workshops from time to time.
My Body is My Home, illustrated by beloved Naarm artist Beci Orpin is coming out on April 28th, 2026, published by Allen & Unwin. It’s a book for young children, and inner young children of any age. Publishing this book made a dream come true I’ve secretly held since the age of five.
Currently I’m working on a mosaic memoir, A Thousand Spinning Plates on Fire. This work weaves personal narrative, culture, music and disability into a broader reflection on survival and joyous creative persistence.
I’m curious about moving through the present moment with dignity and an open heart. We are living through quite a time and although we don’t always get everything right, there is possibility and optimism to be found in resistance. Defiance against the idea of giving up can look like allowing more time to rest, planting something edible and sharing it with your neighbours, and nurturing your relationships. I long for connection most of the time, for strengthening community and gazing lovingly at my friends and family.
My work is fuelled by equal parts rage and hope. I know that humanity can do better and be better. I’ve seen it and felt it! People need accessible inroads to understanding intersectionality. When we don't know something, spaces to challenge and enhance understanding are crucial. Then we use this to spark creativity.
You can work with me in so many ways. I’d love to hear from you!