Gemma Townley

Gemma Townley launched her writing career at the age of sixteen with a book review in Harpers & Queen. At Reading University, unimpressed with the official university paper, Spark, she launched a satirical rival, Spank, which she edited for a year before taking over as deputy editor on Spark and features editor on South-East Student. While at Reading, Gemma --- a singer, cellist and bassist --- also found time to record two albums with her band, Blueboy. They toured the U.K., France and Japan. After graduating, she worked on and wrote financial articles for a number of magazines, including Homes and Ideas, Pay Magazine, Expat Investor and Company as a financial journalist. At the same time, she wrote about music for such style magazines as G-Spot and Second Generation. She later became editor of Financial Management magazine. Gemma is currently head of communications at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is studying for an M.B.A. at Henley Management College. She lives in West London with her husband, Mark.