Jo Randerson's short stories have appeared widely in magazines and anthologies, including The Picnic Virgin, edited by Emily Perkins (VUP 1999), and one, The Knot was published as a small illustrated book by Wedge Press. Her book The Keys to Hell, which features illustrations by Taika Waititi, was published in November 2004. She contributed to the anthology Are Angels OK? The Parallel Universes of New Zealand Writers and Scientists edited by Paul Callaghan and Bill Manhire (2006).

She has a BA in Theatre and Film from Victoria University, where she also won the award for best portfolio in Bill Manhire’s creative writing course in 1996. Jo was the 2001 Burns Fellow at Otago University. In November 2007 she was shortlisted for the 2008 Prize in Modern Letters.