Vanessa Berry lives and works on Gadigal land. In her books, essays and zines she examines expressions of memory, particularly connected to places and objects. She is the author of four books, most recently Gentle and Fierce (2021), a memoir about human and animal relationships, and the award-winning Mirror Sydney (2017), about urban environments and change, […]

Sarah Barrie is an Australian author writing suspense in rural settings. Her bestselling print novel, Secrets of Whitewater Creek, earned her a spot as one of the Top 10 breakthrough authors of 2014, and her next three books, the Hunters Ridge series, also reached bestseller status.

Diane Armstrong’s articles, non-fiction books and historical novels have won national and international awards. Her books have been on bestseller lists and have been translated into several languages. She has taught Creative Writing at East Sydney TAFE and at Long Bay Jail. Her most recent historical novel is The Collaborator, set in Budapest in 1944.

Alison Dance is an avid reader of historical fiction, fantasy and romance. Alison’s background is media and journalism with an interest in regional, agricultural and women’s affairs. While audio books are handy for long drives and e-books are compact, you’ll find her bookshelf full. You can find her on Twitter @alisonjdance and Instagram @alisonjustdance

Hazel Lam is a Senior Book Designer at HarperCollins Australia. Hazel, whose breathtaking designs have earned her the titles of 2018 Emerging Designer of the Year and 2019 Book of the Year (for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), has designed covers and internals for an impressive range of fiction, non-fiction, illustrated books, YA and […]

Lou Garcia-Dolnik is an emerging poet and editor working on unceded Gadigal land. Their work has been awarded second prize in Overland’s Judith Wright Poetry Prize (2019), a place on the shortlist for the 2020 Blake Prize, and an Academy of American Poets University Prize in 2021. A poetry editor for Voiceworks and recipient of […]

Stewart Sheargold’s short stories have appeared in various collections for Obverse Books. His first book for children, The World of Lies, was published in 2018. He wrote the audio plays Bernice Summerfield and The Mirror Effect and Doctor Who: Red. Longlisted for the 2017 Hachette Richell Prize and the 2018 Disquiet Literary Prize, he is […]

Izabella Antoniou is a Sydney-based writer and cooking tutorial enthusiast with a background in marketing and content production. She is currently researching for her latest academic work centred around Bosnian ethno-religious practices. You can find her on Twitter @Izo_Ant.

Cheryl Akle is the founder of Better Reading, Australia’s largest online book community reaching over 500,000 people daily. Passionate about books, she is a strong advocate for Australian authors, a champion of reading and has been a leading figure in the book industry for over 30 years. Using multiple platforms to attract a loyal audience, her […]