Writer by day and cinema projectionist by night, Criss Gidas is a Greek-Australian novelist and screenwriter. She writes speculative fiction about memory, grief, and the things people would rather not remember.
Criss is a graduate of Faber Writing Academy’s Writing a Speculative Fiction Novel 2025/2026 programme at Allen & Unwin under the guidance of award-winning author J. S. Breukelaar, and completed the 2026 Write Your Novel Masterclass at Varuna, The National Writers' House, under the mentorship of Miles Franklin Award-winning novelist Sofie Laguna. She was also highly commended for the 2025 Varuna Writers’ Space Online Fellowship and has completed a mentorship with Aurealis and Ditmar Award-winning speculative fiction writer Kaaron Warren.
Before novels, she wrote and directed for the screen. Her self-funded debut feature, Canvas, premiered at the Gold Coast Film Festival in 2022, and her screenwriting has been recognised by Stowe Story Labs, CineStory, and Screen Queensland as part of Screen Queensland’s Creative Consultations.
