James Bradley is an author and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade and Ghost Species, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. His first book of non-fiction, Deep Water, will be published in 2024.

As a teacher, librarian, author and bookseller, Lindy Batchelor is a passionate and enthusiastic supporter of Australian children’s books. Lindy works as an event coordinator in a children’s bookshop. She is also involved with many aspects of the Australian children’s book industry, especially the northern Sydney sub-branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia and […]

Emily Banyard is marketing and communications manager at the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and is on the board of the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF). With a background in trade publishing in the UK, she is passionate about children’s books and worked directly with authors and illustrators, publishing houses, literature festivals, books fairs, prizes, […]

Deborah Abela trained as a teacher before becoming writer/producer of a national children’s TV show. Since then, she’s become an internationally published and awarded author of 28 books about WW2, pesky wolves, bears in space, spelling bees and kids living in a climate-changed world. Her latest novel, The Book of Wondrous Possibilities, is a 2023 […]

Amanda McLeod is a Canberra-based author and artist, with several short fiction works published in print and online. Find her on Twitter @AmandaMWrites.

Katrina Roe is a children’s picture book author and radio presenter. She can be heard each weekday morning on Sydney’s Hope 103.2 radio. Gemma Gets the Jitters is Katrina’s fourth picture book. She has also published Marty’s Nut-Free Party (Shortlisted, Speech Pathology Book of the Year, 2012), Emily Eases Her Wheezes (CBCA Notable, 2015) and […]

Nerrilee Weir is the Senior Rights Manager at Penguin Random House Australia.  Nerrilee has been selling rights since 1998 and is responsible for selling rights in both the adult and children’s lists in all markets outside of Australia and New Zealand. Nerrilee handles English language rights sales (North America and the United Kingdom), translation rights […]

Tony Spencer-Smith, an award-winning novelist and former Editor-in-Chief of Reader’s Digest magazine, is a highly experienced corporate writing trainer. The lead trainer, he is a partner in Express Editors and author of the The Man Who Snarled at Flowers and The Essentials of Great Writing.

Kate Cuthbert is managing editor of Escape Publishing, Harlequin Australia’s digital-first imprint. She is also an award-winning book reviewer and critic, a genre fiction advocate, and an in-demand moderator, presenter, and teacher. She is currently pursuing a PhD examining rural settings in Australian popular fiction.