Deborah Abela
Deborah worked as a producer/writer for kids’ TV for seven years before leaving to write children's novels. She's the author of the Max Remy Superspy and Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series, which she wrote with the legendary Johnny Warren.
Allan Baillie
Allan was born in Scotland – and there's a bit of Scotland in ‘The Fog’ – but when he was seven he came to Australia. He was a journalist, but now is just an author. Allan's last book was Cat's Mountain but there are two more coming, The Wave and Krakatoa Lighthouse. He sails or swims when possible.
Dianne Bates
Dianne (Di) has published many books for young people. She is the editor of an online magazine, Buzz Words, (www.buzzwordsmagazine.com) for people in the children's book industry. Di is married to children's author Bill Condon. Their website is www.enterprisingwords.com.
Catherine Bateson
Catherine, who started her writing life as a poet, is an award-winning writer for young readers and young adults. Her latest book, Being Bee, won the CBCA Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers.
Jenny Blackford
Jenny has always loved the myths and legends of the ancient world. Her stories have appeared in many publications, including the Hadley Rille anthology Ruins Terra, the NSW School Magazine, 30 Australian Ghost Stories for Children and a story about trolls in Jack Dann's Dreaming Again.
Sue Bursztynski
Sue was brought up in the beachside suburbs of Melbourne, where she still lives, with several pot plants and a lot of handcraft she's done over the years. She works in a secondary school library and teaches ESL. Sue remembers the day Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon.
Isobelle Carmody
Isobelle began writing The Obernewtyn Chronicles while still at secondary school. Since then she has established herself as one of Australia's leading writers of fantasy. Her award-winning book, The Gathering, was a joint winner of the 1993 CBC Book of the Year Award and the 1994 Children's Literature Peace Prize.
Sherryl Clark
Sherryl has been writing fiction and poetry for more than 20 years. Recently her poems have ganged up and become verse novels. The first, Farm Kid, won the 2005 NSW Premier's Award for Children's Books. The second, Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!) was published by Penguin in May 2007.
Paul Collins
The editor of many anthologies, including Dream Weavers and Tales from the Wasteland, Paul also edited The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy. He has been short-listed for several awards for editing, and has won the Peter McNamara, Aurealis and William Atheling awards. His website is www.paulcollins.com.au.
Bill Condon
Bill is the author of several young adult books, two of which, Dogs and No Worries, were Honour Books in the Children's Book Council Awards. He has written close to one hundred books for children. Bill is married to author Dianne Bates. They live near the seaside in Wollongong, New South Wales.
Meredith Costain
Meredith lives in Melbourne with a menagerie of pets. Her work ranges from picture books to popular fiction and non-fiction, and she is the literary editor of three children's magazines. Meredith's books include Freeing Billy, It's True: Hauntings Happen and Ghosts Get Grumpy and Doodledum Dancing. Visit her at www.meredithcostain.com.
Gary Crew
Gary is one of Australia's most awarded authors, winning the Children's Book of the Year award four times and numerous other awards. He lives with his wife Christine on their property in the Blackall Ranges, near Maleny, in South East Queensland. He has three children and four grandchildren.
Justin D'Ath
Justin has written 24 books for children and young adults, including the very popular Extreme Adventure series, which features Sam Fox from ‘Wild Africa’. His latest YA novel is Pool. Justin lives with his partner Ryn and dog Holly beside a river in the hills north of Melbourne.
Hazel Edwards
Best known for There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake, Hazel also writes YA novels such as Outback Ferals and ‘short’ crime. Recently she co-authored Cycling Solo: Ireland to Istanbul with her cartographer son Trevelyan Quest. Hobbies are belly dancing and asking questions. Visit her at www.hazeledwards.com.
Janet Findlay
Janet has been an actor, performance poet and radio copywriter. She has co-written many scripts, including the satirical 50s musical ‘The Heartache & Sorrow Show’ with Cathy Downes – performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Janet lives in South East Queensland where she regularly impersonates the Queen.
Kate Forsyth
Kate is the bestselling author of numerous books for children and adults, including The Gypsy Crown – the adventures of two Romany children in the time of Oliver Cromwell – Dragon Gold, The Starthorn Tree, and a picture book, I Am. She is also the author of the popular Witches of Eileanan series.
Scot Gardner
Scot lives in the Strzelecki mountain range in eastern Victoria. He flies his kites, collects skulls and makes musical instruments from weeds. His writing is mostly realist fiction for young adults and includes White Ute Dreaming, Burning Eddy, The Legend of Kevin the Plumber and Gravity. Visit his website www.scotgardner.com.
Grant Gittus
Grant has always had a keen interest in science fiction and fantasy and has been responsible for a number of book covers, illustrations, T-shirts, posters and even co-authored the world-famous Biker Baby Learns to Count with Rod Tokely. For relaxation he operates a small graphic design business in South Melbourne, Victoria. Visit www.gggraphics.com.au.
Kerry Greenwood
Kerry Greenwood has written more than 40 novels for adults and young adults, including the crime fiction Phryne Fisher and Corinna Chapman series, the sci-fantasy Broken Wheel series and many historical novels. She works as a duty solicitor for Legal Aid and in her spare time stares blankly out of the window.
Andy Griffiths
Andy is the author of the Just! series, the Bum trilogy, the Bad book and a whole lot of other really stupid books. He has a really bad website, www.andygriffiths. com.au.
Phillip Gwynne
One of eight children, Phillip was raised in country South Australia. He has a degree in marine biology and has travelled the world. His first book, Deadly Unna?, won several literary awards and he has since written Nukkin’ Ya, Jetty Rats, The Worst Team Ever and Born to Bake.
Richard Harland
Richard lives in Wollongong, south of Sydney – so if he fell asleep on the train, he would end up at Bomaderry. He's won Aurealis Awards for Best Speculative Fiction Novel and Best Fantasy Story. His latest books for younger readers are Walter Wants To Be a Werewolf! and Sassycat. More on his website www.richardharland.net.
Steven Herrick
Steven is an author for children and young adults. His books have won numerous awards including the NSW Premier's Literary Award and Honour Book in the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. His latest books are Cold Skin – a verse novel for teenagers and his first prose fiction for children, Rhyming Boy.
Simon Higgins
Simon is a former policeman, prosecutor and detective-for-hire who has travelled in Asia, studied martial arts and written thrillers for Japanese newspapers. His seven published novels include the bestselling adventures Thunderfish, Under No Flag, and In the Jaws of the Sea. His latest book, Tomodachi: The Edge of the World is set in medieval Japan.
Leigh Hobbs
Leigh is an artist who works in a wide range of mediums, but is best known for the children's books he writes and illustrates. These feature a number of subversive characters including Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, Mr Chicken and that wretched class of school children in Freaks Ahoy! and 4F for Freak.
Robert Hood
Robert has a particular fondness for tales of hauntings and other monstrous horrors. He has written many of them over the years, especially in a collection Immaterial: Ghost Stories. He is also the author of the novel Backstreets and the Shades series of supernatural thrillers. His website is www.roberthood.net.
George Ivanoff
Author of over 20 books for children and teenagers, George has two books, Life, Death and Detention and Real Sci-Fi, on the booklist for the 2007 Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge. George has also had stories published in numerous science fiction and fantasy magazines and anthologies. His website is www.georgeivanoff.com.au.
Carol Jones
Carol's first novel for young adults was published in 1992. She has written more than 40 books – everything from young adult novels to stories for six-year-olds. Carol's most recent novel is The Losers’ Club. Her most recent non-fiction title is It's True: Women Were Warriors. She is married with two children and lives in Melbourne.
Sofie Laguna
Sofie is an author, actor and playwright. Her books have been named Honour and Notable Books in the CBCA awards and have been short-listed in the Queensland Premier's Awards. Her titles include Too Loud Lily and Bad Buster. Sofie's most recent novel is Bird and Sugar Boy.
Doug MacLeod
Doug wrote the children's classic Sister Madge's Book of Nuns, and the comic coming-of-age novels, I'm Being Stalked by a Moonshadow and Tumble Turn. Doug works part-time as the script editor on the series Kath and Kim and with satirist, John Clarke, co-wrote the stage musical, The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom.
Marc McBride
Marc's first picture book was The Kraken in 2001 written by Gary Crew. Since then he has illustrated many books including the hugely successful Deltora Quest and Quentaris series, The Deltora Book of Monsters, Old Ridley, Journey From the Centre of the Earth and Tales of Deltora. His latest book is called World of Monsters.
Sophie Masson
Sophie is the author of many novels, and is published in Australia, the UK, the US, Thailand, Italy and Germany. Her most recent books are The Maharajah's Ghost and the Thomas Trew series for younger readers.
David Metzenthen
David is a writer who lives in suburban Melbourne, but every day wishes the drought that Australia is experiencing would end. His poem was written in an effort to explain the delicate ecology and fragile nature of this country. And to perhaps suggest that it's a good idea to simply try and enjoy life moment by moment.
David Miller
David was born in Sydney, grew up in Melbourne, studied art then worked in advertising before establishing his own studio. In 1995, You can make paper sculptures was published, followed by Mem Fox's Boo to a Goose. In 2008, Krista Bell's Lofty's Mission will be David's 13th picture book.
Jenny Mounfield
A Queensland writer, Jenny is the author of three novels for kids, Storm Born, The Black Bandit and The Ice-cream Man. She believes in magic, science and pasta and is currently working on several new stories for young adults.
Meme McDonald
Meme's novel Love Like Water is her ninth book, five of which have been written in collaboration with Aboriginal storyteller Boori Monty Pryor including My Girragundji, The Binna Binna Man and Njunjul the Sun. She has won six major literary awards for her writing. Poetry is a private love of hers.
Sean McMullen
Sean's first young adult novel was The Ancient Hero (in The Quentaris Chronicles), followed by a teenage time travel novel, Before the Storm. Sean has over a dozen YA chapter books and stories published, and his 2002 novel, Voyage of the Shadowmoon, featured a vampire who had been a teenager for 700 years.
Sally Odgers
Sally, a Tasmanian, has been writing for as long as she can remember. She writes in many genres, especially fantasy and science fiction, and is the co-author (with Darrel Odgers) of the Jack Russell: Dog Detective series. Sally runs a small manuscript assessment business, and enjoys walking (usually with dogs). Visit her at www.sallyodgers.com.
Michael Pryor
Born in Swan Hill, Victoria, Michael has worked in a scrap metal yard and as a drainer's labourer, a truck driver, a tap salesman, an Internet consultant, a software developer, a secondary school teacher and an educational publisher. He has published 17 novels and over 40 short stories. His website is www.michaelpryor.com.au.
Sally Rippin
Sally is an award-winning children's author and illustrator. She has had over 20 books published and is currently teaching Writing for Children at RMIT. She owns many pairs of red shoes, but life seems to spin by pretty quickly even when she's not wearing them. Visit www.sallyrippin.com.
David Rish
David lives in an okay house next to an oak tree and he writes occasionally. He has never owned a leather jacket. You can check out his life and work on his neglected website www.netspace.net.au/~drish/.
James Roy
James is the author of 14 books for young people, including the CBCA Honour Books Captain Mack and Billy Mack's War, and Town, a collection of short stories for older readers. He lives in the Blue Mountains with his family, and relaxes by bushwalking and playing his guitar, sometimes both at the same time.
Jim Schembri
Jim is a Melbourne author who has written a wide range of young adult novels. His books include Welcome to Minute 16 and Portal Bandits. Jim is a journalist but much prefers writing fiction, watching TV, collecting Star Wars toys and dreaming up new messages for his answering machine.
Lucy Sussex
Lucy's work includes three collections of short stories, most recently Absolute Uncertainty. For teenagers she has written three fantasy novels, and edited two anthologies, The Patternmaker and The Lottery (Altered Voices in the US). She has been short-listed for the IGHW and World Fantasy Awards.
Shaun Tan
Shaun grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and in school became known as the ‘good drawer’ which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He currently works full time as an artist and author, writing and illustrating picture books, such as The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and The Arrival. For more information visit www.shauntan.net.
Keith Taylor
Keith was born in Tasmania in 1946, saw Vietnam service in the 1960s and had his first story published in 1975 (in Fantastic Stories). This was followed by about a dozen novels and various anthology stories, including historical mysteries. He married Anna Caucci, resulting in a son, Francis, now eighteen.
Coral Tulloch
Coral has illustrated over 50 fiction and non-fiction books for children. She researched, wrote, and illustrated her factual work on Antarctica, Antarctica, The Heart of the World, which won The Environment Award for Children's Literature in 2004. Coral lives in Hobart, Tasmania, with her husband, Peter, and daughter, Tully.
Mitch Vane
Mitch is an artist and illustrator. She has worked on many children's books and often collaborates with her husband who is a writer. They have two children who have been the inspiration for many of her drawings. Most of Mitch's work is wonky and messy – she can't draw a straight line, even with a ruler.
Michael Wagner
Since growing up in a housing commission flat in Melbourne, Michael has played in a band that almost became famous, spent ten years as a radio broadcaster with the ABC, written and produced animation for television, and now writes books for children. He's best known for his series about Maxx Rumble and The Undys.
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is a reader and writer of young adult literature. She manages www.insideadog.com.au, a youth literature website run by the Centre for Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria. She is the author of Joan of Arc and Scatterheart.