Charlotte McConaghy is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Once There Were Wolves, winner of the Indie Book Award for Fiction 2022; and the international bestseller Migrations, a TIME Magazine Best Book of the Year and the Amazon Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2020, translated into over twenty-five languages and adapted for film. Her forthcoming novel, Wild Dark Shore, will be released in March 2025. 

Isobelle Carmody is a multi-award-winning Australian author who has written over 40 novels and many short stories. She has illustrated eight books and her work has been translated into many languages. She recently completed a PhD at the University of Queensland, followed by 18 months of Postgraduate research. Her most recent work is Comes the Night, which has been shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards. She is currently working on Darkbane, the third in her Legendsong series, and a graphic novel called Saltsong. 

Pip Williams is best known for her companion novels, The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho. The Dictionary of Lost Words has been translated into more than thirty languages, won multiple awards, was chosen for the Reese Witherspoon book club and is a New York Times best seller. It has been optioned for screen and the stage play is currently touring Australia after sold out audiences in 2023/2024. Her latest book, The Bookbinder of Jericho, has all the power and emotion of the first. It too is an award winner and has been translated into multiple languages. 

Dr Kate Forsyth is an award-winning, bestselling author who has been called one of ‘the finest writers of this generation’. Her novels include Psykhe, a feminist reimagining of the ancient myth which foregrounds the woman at its heart; The Crimson Thread, set in Crete during World War II; and Bitter Greens, a retelling of Rapunzel which won the American Library Award for Best Historical Fiction. Children’s books include Kate Forsyth’s Long-Lost Fairy Tales, illustrated by Lorena Carrington. Kate has a BA in literature, a MA in creative writing & a Doctorate of Creative Arts, and runs writing and literary retreats in Australia, Greece and the UK. 

Nikki Gemmell is known as one of Australia’s most provocative and honest writers. She’s the bestselling author of some twenty books, including Shiver, The Bride Stripped Bare and Wing, a searing examination of what it means to be female today, through the lens of an Australian high school. Nikki was born in Wollongong and is a proud alumnae of Keiraville Public School. Her books have been translated into 22 languages. 

Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay storyteller and performer living in Sydney. She is a founding member of Indigenous vocal group Stiff Gins who have been writing, performing and touring for twenty-six years. In April 2025, Stiff Gins released their fourth studio album ‘Crossroads.’ Nardi’s first novel Song of the Crocodile was long listed for the 2021 Stella Prize and Miles Franklin Awards and her second novel the belburd was published by Hachette Australia in 2024. Nardi is a research associate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, works with student ensembles and facilitates music and story projects in both her Sydney and Yuwaalaraay communities.

Omar Sakr is the son of Arab and Turkish Muslim migrants. He is the author of four collections of poetry and a novel, Son of Sin (Affirm Press, 2022). In 2020, he became the first Arab-Australian to win the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry with his collection, The Lost Arabs. His most recent book, The Nightmare Sequence (UQP, 2025), is a collaboration with artist Safdar Ahmed responding to the genocide in Palestine. Royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Palestinian charities. 

Jessie Tu is a journalist for Women’s Agenda and a book critic for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. Her bestselling debut novel, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, won the 2021 Best Literary Fiction at the Australian Book Industry Awards. Her second novel is The Honeyeater. 

Amy Remeikis writes, talks and analyses Australian politics across Australia’s media as the political analyst at the Australia Institute. Most recently at the Guardian, Amy is an author and political blogger and appears regularly on ABC programs and Network Ten’s The Project.