Jules Steer is the Director of the Cairns Tropical Writers’ Festival, and the Creative Director of the StrawNoMore Project, a global eco-campaign aimed at reducing the impact of plastic straws on the Great Barrier Reef, and is the reason you drink cocktails through a paper straw.

With over 30 years in the media industry, including 10 years at the helm of a magazine and media company she founded, Jules has left an indelible mark on the local marketing landscape. A solo mum of four energetic school-age kids, she is often found with her head in her hands, cry-laughing about her latest parenting failure.

A self-proclaimed book nerd and cricket tragic, this third-generation Cairns local is the ultimate cheerleader for all things Far North Queensland, bringing an infectious energy to everything she does.