Leigh Sales

Leigh Sales, born 1973 is an author and award-winning journalist and presenter of 7.30 with the Australian national broadcaster, the ABC.

Biography

Sales grew up in Queensland and was a journalist with the Nine Network in Brisbane before joining the ABC. She is a graduate of Deakin University (Master of International Relations) and Queensland University of Technology (Bachelor of Journalism).

Sales is co-presenter of the ABC's flagship news and current affairs program, 7.30.

Until 2010, she presented Lateline on Monday, Thursday and Friday nights (with Tony Jones in the role on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). From 2006 until 2008, she was the ABC's National Security Correspondent based in Sydney and was the network's Washington correspondent from 2001 to 2005, covering stories including the Iraq War, the 2004 presidential election, Guantanamo Bay and Hurricane Katrina. Sales has held positions in national radio current affairs and was NSW political reporter (covering the 1999 and 2007 state elections and the 2000 Summer Olympics).

Her first book, Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks, was published in 2007 by Melbourne University Publishing. The book covers Hicks' case as well as a detailed explanation of the Bush administration's detainee policy in the War on Terror and the Australian government's cooperation. Her essay, "On Doubt", was published in 2009 as part of MUP's series Little Books on Big Themes which has featured Germaine Greer, David Malouf, Blanche d'Alpuget and Barrie Kosky. She has written for The Monthly and her work has occasionally appeared in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and before their demise, The Diplomat and The Bulletin.

Sales writes a fortnightly blog called Well-readhead, mostly about books and reading. It includes a list of ten interesting things to read, watch or listen to. It appears on both the ABC's The Drum website and News Limited's The Punch.

Awards and recognition

• 2005: Walkley Award for best Radio Current Affairs reporting on Guantanamo Bay
• 2007: George Munster Award for Independent Journalism for Detainee 002

Published works

• On Doubt (2009)
• Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks (2007)

References

• ABC Biography
• Detainee 002: The Case of David Hicks at Melbourne University Publishing
• "Book to tell torture tales when Hicks cannot" by Penelope Debelle, The Age (4 April 2007)

External links

• Leigh Sales at The Punch

Media offices
Preceded by Virginia Trioli	Lateline Presenter (Monday, Tuesday & Friday) 2008 - 2010	Succeeded by Ali Moore
Preceded by Kerry O'Brien as The 7.30 Report	7.30 Presenter with Chris Uhlmann 2011 - present	Succeeded by Incumbent