Lead judge: Best Plain Language Technical Communicator

Principal of Plain English Communications, Sydney, Australia

Jan Bowen is principal of Plain English Communications, an Australian-based company she founded 20 years ago. For over a decade, she was a member of the international judging panel for the Australian Plain English Awards. Jan is a passionate advocate of the need to communicate in language that readers will not only understand, but want to read. Her clients include federal and state governments, the legal profession, major financial institutions, insurance companies, technology companies, transport consultants, and a car park operator.

Jan is also a best-selling author. Of her 32 published books, 15 communicate legal topics to the general community. Other publications encompass medical matters, travel, and personality interviews.

In her leisure time, music has been a driving force in Jan’s life. She chaired Sydney Youth Orchestras for 15 years and is now a board member of a prominent chamber music group, together with Music in the Regions, taking classical music to regional areas.

Jan has an Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the arts, particularly to youth orchestral music and to the community. Recently she has been appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

Meet the judges for the Plain Language Awards

How the judging process works