Hannah Kent's first novel, the multi award winning international bestseller, Burial Rites, was translated into over 30 languages and is being adapted for film. 

Her second novel, The Good People was translated into 10 languages, nominated for numerous awards and is also being adapted for film. Devotion, her third novel, published in 2021, won Booktopia's Favourite Australian Book, and was shortlisted for multiple industry awards. 

Her original feature film, Run Rabbit Run, was directed by Daina Reid and starred Sarah Snook. 

Hannah is also the co-founder of Kill Your Darlings, and has written for The New York Times, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian, the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, Meanjin, Qantas Magazine and LitHub. 

She lives and works on Peramangk and Kaurna country. 

Born in Belfast, Chris Flynn now lives in a small town in regional Victoria. He is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden, the story collection Here Be Leviathans, and three books for children in association with Museums Victoria, Horridus and the Hidden Valley, Horridus and the Night Forest and The Quest for Kool. 

His work has appeared in Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist, Griffith Review, Kill Your Darlings, Monster Children, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Meanjin, The Guardian, The Age, The Australian, The Big Issue, Australian Book Review and many other publications. 

Chris's books have been shortlisted for and won prizes such as the Indie Book Award, Commonwealth Book Prize, Russell Prize for Humour, Queensland Premier's Literary Award and Aurealis Award. His mum and dad were foster parents. He grew up with more than 100 brothers and sisters, all aged under nine. 

Orpheus Nine is his latest book. 

Santilla Chingaipe is a Zambian-born filmmaker, historian and author, whose work explores settler colonialism, slavery, and contemporary migration in Australia.

Chingaipe’s first book of non-fiction Black Convicts was shortlisted for The Stella Prize and long-listed for the prestigious Cundill History Prize, and the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary inspired by the book, Our African Roots, is streaming on SBS On Demand. Our African Roots marked the first-time on Australian television that an African-Australian host interrogated the nation’s colonial history.

The recipient of several awards, she was recognised at the United Nations as one of the most influential people of African descent in the world in 2019. She delivered the annual E.W Cole lecture in 2023 on ‘Who Gets to Write History?’, and her work has been published internationally by The New York Times, The Guardian, The BBC, and elsewhere.

She is based in Melbourne.

Samantha Byres is a writer from Whanganui, Aotearoa. She attended the International Institute of Modern Letters in Wellington and her work appears in various New Zealand and Australian journals. Her debut novel Dead Ends was released by UQP in 2025 and she is currently working on a collection of short fiction. Sam lives in Naarm/Melbourne with her girlfriend and dog.

Keshe Chow (she/her) is a Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy, romance, and speculative fiction. Her debut novel won the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literature Awards Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript and was shortlisted in the 2025 ABIA awards. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, two kids, one cat, and way too many house plants.

Anne Gleeson lives and writes near the Campaspe River in Kyneton within the Macedon Ranges – Taungurung Country, Australia.

Poetry is her great love. Her three poetry books In between the dancing, Maisie and the Black Cat Band and Small Acts of Purpose were published by Interactive Press.

Anne’s essays and articles have been published in the major Australian newspapers, literary journals, special interest journals and on-line publications.

Anne loves engaging with an audience and will happily present on any or combined aspects of her work in the writing, educational or funeral worlds. “A born storyteller and teacher, Anne’s gift with words and people, shines through every performance.”

Vikki is a CBCA Book of the Year–winning author for Where The Lyrebird Lives (2023). Her books have been widely recognised, including a 2026 Notable for Where The River Runs Free and Honour and Notable awards for Amira’s Suitcase and Little Puggle’s Song. Her title On The Way To School was shortlisted for the 2023 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year.