Jackie French
Jackie is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator and the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014-2015. She is regarded as one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors, and writes across all genres - from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction. In her capacity as Australian Children’s Laureate, ‘Share a Story’ will be the primary philosophy behind Jackie’s two-year term.
If you like author Jackie French here is the list of authors you may also like
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Michael Gerard Bauer
Michael Gerard Bauer was born and lives in Brisbane Australia. In 2000 he resigned from his full-time position as an English/Economics teacher to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.
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In 2004 his first YA novel The Running Man was published to great acclaim. It subsequently won the 2005 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Older Readers and was short-listed for the NSW, Victoria and South Australian State Premiers’ Literary awards.
In 2008 the German translation of The Running Man was short-listed for the German Youth Literature Prize and won the German Catholic Children’s and Young People’s Book Prize. In 2014 it was short-listed for the Prix Farniente in Belgium. In 2009 the Italian translation of The Running Ma -
Paula J. Beavan
I am a Hunter Valley based writer who grew up, farmed, and played along the banks of the Hunter River.
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I love the rich history of the area and often escape down the rabbit hole of research. On one such excursion I fortuitously found a family connection to a local landmark and historic figure, William Harpur, one of the founding settlers in the Hunter Valley; assistant to the Surveyor General in 1821; who established his property Oswald on the Hunter River in the mid 1820’s, and is related to my father’s great-grandfather who settled in Australia in the 1840’s.
This discovery piqued my interest in the people who lived here before me, and so I find myself setting my stories in and around the places I grew up. I was fortunate to have lived on a -
Mem Fox
Merrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
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Jane Worroll
Jane Worroll (MSc) and Peter Houghton are qualified Level 3 Forest School leaders, running their own London-based Forest School (The Forest School Way) as well as The Crafting Shed, which offers creative courses. They are the authors of a bestselling Forest School series that includes three books and a deck of activity cards. Jane is a former Countryside Ranger.
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Kimberley Freeman
Pen name of Kim Wilkins.
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Kimberley was born in London and her family moved back to Australia when she was three years old. She grew up in Queensland where she currently lives.
Kimberley has written for as long as she can remember and she is proud to write in many genres. She is an award-winning writer in children’s, historical and speculative fiction under her birth name Kim Wilkins. She adopted the pen name Kimberley Freeman for her commercial women’s fiction novels Duet and Gold Dust to honour her maternal grandmother and to try and capture the spirit of the page-turning novels she has always loved to read. Kim has an Honours degree, a Masters degree and a PhD from The University of Queensland where she is also a lecturer. She lives in Bris -
Stephen Michael King
Stephen Michael King has illustrated, written, and designed many books for children, including The Duck and the Darklings by Glenda Millard. He lives in Australia.
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Alison Lester
Has a son Lachie Hume, who is also a published children's book author.
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Maryam Master
Maryam Master is a writer with more than 20 years' experience creating work for stage and screen.
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In 2019 she wrote the stage adaptation of David Walliams' best-selling book The Midnight Gang. The show enjoyed a sellout season at the Sydney Opera House and will begin an extensive national tour in 2021. The previous year she wrote an acclaimed adaptation of Walliams' Billionaire Boy, which also toured nationally.
In 2017 Maryam collaborated with Australian Children's Laureate Leigh Hobbs on Horrible Harriet: Live on Stage. In 2016, her new version of Mr Stink toured nationally and to the UAE, and was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award.
Maryam started her career in television, writing over 80 episodes of Home and Away (Seven Network). Since th -
Fiona Lloyd
Fiona was born in the beautiful North-East of England near picturesque countryside, windswept beaches and the vibrant cultural city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She dreamed of writing in a cosy country cottage and of life as a theatre actress but, as it often does, life got in the way.
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Working and travelling instead, Fiona floated in the Dead Sea, climbed the Sydney Harbour bridge, gave guided tours in Holland and fell in love with all things Greek during her two years in Athens and Skiathos. Her most special travel experience was in Myanmar where she visited the place where her Granny was born.
Amongst her myriad of interesting jobs, Fiona worked as a television colourist on Home & Away, This is Greece and Secrets of Britain’s Great Cathedrals. S -
Andrew Daddo
Born Andrew Dugald Daddo with twin James Beilby. School included "broken arms and fingers, scrapes and scratches, girlfriends, hot chips and a football team that refused to win a premiership." Careers included radio, TV - DVDs for GlobeTrekker. "He has written books for all ages – picture books, chapter books, short story collections, young adult novels and adult non-fiction." He "lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with" .. seven others "if you include our chicken Spite and thirteen if you include those pesky Indian Miner Birds who sneak in the crack in the window to eat what Spud the Dog, Felix, Bibi or Jasper (our kids) or Jacquie (my wife) leave lying around." https://www.facebook.com/andrew.daddo.16
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Alison Lloyd
Alison Lloyd is an Australian writer. She writes both fiction and non-fiction -- new words about old worlds.
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Alison has had ten books for children published, several of which have won national prizes or been shortlisted.
Alison now writes women's historical fiction with elements of romance, adventure, warmth and wit.
You can find her online, and get her newsletter, at https://alisonlloydauthor.com/ .
Alison Lloyd's site for kids is www.alisonlloyd.com.au -
P. Crumble
Pen name of Australian Paul Dumble. P. Crumble is the bestselling author of many humorous children's books.
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Fiona McIntosh
Fiona writes best selling historical adventure-romance alongside the heroic-romantic, often brutal, fantasy she built her career upon. She lives in Australia but frequently roams the world meticulously researching the locations and gathering material for her historical novels that have international settings. Her books are published worldwide and in various languages.
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Her most recent historical fiction has gathered such a following that she is now hosting a tour in 2014 to Paris and Provence so eager readers can walk in the footsteps of her characters.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. -
Carole Wilkinson
Carole was born in England in 1950. Her family moved to Australia when she was 12. She now lives in Melbourne, with her husband John.
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Carole didn't start writing until she was nearly 40. Before that, she worked as a laboratory assistant, working with a lot of blood and brains. Once she’d decided to try and become a writer, she went to university. She wrote a lot while she was there including her first novel. She showed it to a friend who worked in publishing who asked if she could write a teenage novel. Her first published book was based on something her daughter, who was at high school at the time, was doing.
Carole says she has lots of ideas and so far she’s never had 'writers' block'. She might have got a late start, but she’s been trying -
Ellie Marney
Ellie Marney is a multi-award-winning, bestselling author of thrillers for teens and adults. Her titles include the New York Times bestseller None Shall Sleep, the Kirkus-starred sequel, Some Shall Break, and the electrifying finale All Shall Mourn. Ellie's other titles include ARA Historical Novel Prize-nominated The Killing Code and Australian library favorite Every Breath. Her debut adult thriller No One Is Safe is arriving 10th February 2026.
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Ellie has spent a lifetime researching in mortuaries, talking to autopsy specialists, and asking former spies how to make explosives from household items - now she lives quite sedately in south-eastern Australia with her family. Find sign-ups for her newsletter, The Black Hand, at her website, an -
A.B. Paterson
Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson was an Australian poet, ballad writer, journalist and horseman. See also Banjo Paterson.
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A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson, known as Barty to his family, was born Andrew Barton Paterson at Narrambla, near Orange on 17 February 1864. His parents, Andrew Bogle and Rose Isabella Paterson were graziers on Illalong station in the Yass district.
Paterson's early education took place at home under a governess and then at the bush school in Binalong, the nearest township. From about the age of ten years he attended the Sydney Grammar School. He lived with his grandmother in Gladesville and spent the school holidays at Illalong station with his family.
After completing school the 16-year-old Paterson was articled to a Sydney firm of -
Kylie Dunstan
Kylie Dunstan is an award winning author and illustrator of children’s picture books. Her first book ‘Collecting Colour’ won CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2009. She has since written and illustrated six more books.
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Kylie now lives in Chicago with her partner and two girls. -
Pip Williams
Pip was born in London, grew up in Sydney and now calls the Adelaide Hills home. She is co-author of the book Time Bomb: Work Rest and Play in Australia Today (New South Press, 2012) and in 2017 she wrote One Italian Summer, a memoir of her family’s travels in search of the good life, which was published with Affirm Press to wide acclaim. Pip has also published travel articles, book reviews, flash fiction and poetry.
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Alli Sinclair
Alli Sinclair is an Australian multi-award winning author published who has lived in Argentina, Peru, and Canada. She’s climbed some of the world’s highest mountains and worked as a tour guide in South and Central America. Australia has always been close to Alli’s heart as she loves the diverse landscapes and the rich multicultural heritage of this wonderful land.
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Alli’s books explore history, culture, love and grief, and relationships between family, friends and lovers. She captures the romance and thrill of discovering old and new worlds and loves taking readers on a journey of discovery. When not writing novels, Alli works as a producer and screenwriter for TV and cinema. -
Frances Watts
Frances Watts was born in Switzerland and grew up in Australia. She has published 20 books for children, including picture books and books for younger readers, including Goodnight Mice!, the winner of the 2012 Prime Minister’s Award for Children’s Fiction, and 2008 Children’s Book Council of Australia award-winner Parsley Rabbit’s Book about Books. Her latest book, The Raven’s Wing, is her first novel for young adults. Frances lives in Sydney and divides her time between writing and editing.
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Sally Colin-James
Following a globally successful corporate career in communications and event management, Sally Colin-James returned to creative writing, gaining an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) scholarship to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in professional writing. Her novel One Illumined Thread won the 2020 HNSA Colleen McCullough Residency Award, the 2020 Varuna PIP Fellowship Award, the Byron Bay Writers Festival Mentorship Award, and a placement with the Australian Writers Mentoring program. Her work was shortlisted from over 2000 entries across 54 countries for the international 2021 First Pages Prize.
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Julie Vivas
One of Australia's foremost illustrators, Julie Vivas's work for the world renowned Possum Magic (written by Mem Fox) began a career as a children's illustrator that has since seen the creation of some very important picture books. Julie was born in Adelaide, lived in Melbourne and Sydney as a child, and later studied interior design in Sydney. After living in Spain for a number of years she returned to Sydney with her family and her illustrating career began with The Tram to Bondi Beach. Her very distinctive watercolour style is seen in such well-known books as Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, The Nativity, Let the Celebrations Begin, Let's Eat, Hello Baby, and Sleepy Pendoodle. Julie has always dealt with controversial issues in her pic
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Glynis Peters
I write historical novels set in WWII Britain, and live by the sea in Essex.
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Graeme Base
Graeme Rowland Base is a British-Australian author and artist of picture books. He is perhaps best known for his second book, Animalia published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour which was released in 1989.
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Richard Fidler
Richard Fidler is one of ABC's (Australian Broadcasting Commission) most popular presenters, best known for his hour-long interview program, Conversations with Richard Fidler. The program is ABC Radio's most popular podcast, downloaded more than 1.5 million times per month. It features local and international guests from all walks of life, engaging in in-depth interviews.
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He first came to prominence in the 1980s as a member of the Doug Anthony All Stars (DAAS), an Australian musical comedy group also comprising Tim Ferguson and Paul McDermott. The group disbanded in 1994.
Richard began his broadcast career on TV, and presented shows including: Race Around the World; Aftershock; Mouthing Off, and Vulture.
In 2011 Fidler was awarded a Churchill -
Michael Salmon
Michael Salmon has been involved in the business of entertaining young people for 32 years since joining the famous marionette troupe “THE TINTOOKIES “ (Sydney, Australia) in 1968 as a stage manager / trainee designer (The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust).
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Pamela Allen
Pamela Kay Allen MNZM AM, born in 1934 in Devonport, New Zealand, is a celebrated children's author and illustrator.
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Since the release of her first book, Mr. Archimedes' Bath, in 1980, she has written and illustrated over 50 picture books, selling over five million copies. Renowned for works like Who Sank the Boat?.
Allen has received numerous accolades, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award and the Margaret Mahy Medal. Her books have been adapted for the stage and are beloved worldwide. Now residing in Auckland, she remains an icon in children's literature. -
Mary-Lou Stephens
Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.
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She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband.
Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now travels the world slowly and writes, mostly.
Her debut novel The Last of the Apple Blossom was published by HarperCollins (HQ) in 2021.
The Chocolate Factory (HarperCollins HQ) 2024.
The Jam Maker (HarperCollins HQ) 2025
Praise for The Choco -
Katrina Nannestad
Katrina Nannestad is an award-winning Australian author. Her books include The Girl Who Brought Mischief, the Girl, the Dog and the Writer series, the Olive of Groves series, the Red Dirt Diaries series, the Lottie Perkins series and Bungaloo Creek.
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Katrina grew up in country New South Wales in a neighborhood stuffed full of happy children. Her adult years have been spent teaching, raising boys, perfecting her recipe for chocolate-chip bickies and pursuing her love of stories. She now lives near Bendigo with her family and an exuberant black whippet called Olive. -
Marcia K. Vaughan
Marcia Vaughan became a librarian in 1975 so that she could inspire children to read. After a short while, she began writing her own books. Her first two stories were never published but her third, ‘Wombat Stew’, illustrated by Pamela Lofts, was published in 1984. It might now be considered a classic of Australian children’s literature.
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Ambelin Kwaymullina
Ambelin Kwaymullina belongs to the Palyku people of the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia. She is a writer, illustrator and law academic who works across a range of genres including YA, science fiction, verse and non-fiction.
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Aaron Blabey
Aaron is an Australian author of children's books and artist who until the mid-2000s was also an actor. His award winning picture books include Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon and the best-selling Pig the Pug.
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In the field of acting, he is probably best known for his lead roles in two television dramedies, 1994's The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award, and 2003's CrashBurn, before retiring from performance in 2005. -
Pamela Allen
Pamela Kay Allen MNZM AM, born in 1934 in Devonport, New Zealand, is a celebrated children's author and illustrator.
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Since the release of her first book, Mr. Archimedes' Bath, in 1980, she has written and illustrated over 50 picture books, selling over five million copies. Renowned for works like Who Sank the Boat?.
Allen has received numerous accolades, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award and the Margaret Mahy Medal. Her books have been adapted for the stage and are beloved worldwide. Now residing in Auckland, she remains an icon in children's literature. -
Lynley Dodd
Dame Lynley Dodd is an internationally celebrated writer for children whose titles are highly regarded and much loved by her readers in New Zealand and around the world. Her stories are known for their lively sound qualities, curious animal characters, and the memorable illustrations that accompany the text. Lynley has received numerous awards, both for her writing and illustration, and in 2002 she was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to children’s literature.
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Lynley was a founding member of Bookrapt in 1983. -
Julia Donaldson
Growing up
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I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.
The busking led to a career in singing a -
Alison Lester
Has a son Lachie Hume, who is also a published children's book author.
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Morris Gleitzman
Morris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.
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Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-wi -
Ian Falconer
Ian Falconer is the author and illustrator of all the titles in the bestselling Olivia series: Olivia, Olivia Saves the Circus,Olivia...and the Missing Toy, and Olivia Forms a Band. His illustrations have also graced many covers of the New Yorker. In addition, he has designed sets and costumes for the New York City Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, and the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), among others. Mr. Falconer lives in New York City. (Simon & Schuster)
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Jon Stone
Stone graduated from Williams College in 1952. He received a master's degree from the Yale University School of Drama in 1955, at which time he joined a CBS training program. Before helping to create Sesame Street, he worked on the popular children's television show Captain Kangaroo for CBS. He also worked on several other Muppet projects before and during his time on Sesame Street, and was the author of several books including the popular "The Monster at the End of this Book". He was married for 9 years to actress Beverly Owen.
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Stone was Sesame Street's principal director until 1996. Working with Jim Henson, he helped to create many of the Muppet characters, including Big Bird and Cookie Monster. He was also responsible for the show's forma -
Eric Hill
Eric Gordon Hill OBE was a popular author and illustrator of children's picture books, best known for his character Spot the Dog. His works have been widely praised for their contributions to child literacy. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.
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Gene Zion
Born on October 5, in 1913, Gene Zion attended the New School of Social Research and the Pratt Institute. In 1948, he married artist Margaret Bloy Graham, who then collaborated with him on all his picture books. When their marriage ended in 1968, Zion also ended his career as an author. Zion is best known for his creation of the rascally dog, Harry, who appears in such books as HARRY THE DIRTY DOG and HARRY BY THE SEA. He died in 1975.
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Mem Fox
Merrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
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Marcia K. Vaughan
Marcia Vaughan became a librarian in 1975 so that she could inspire children to read. After a short while, she began writing her own books. Her first two stories were never published but her third, ‘Wombat Stew’, illustrated by Pamela Lofts, was published in 1984. It might now be considered a classic of Australian children’s literature.
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Kelly Cunnane
Kelly Cunnane has many worldly experiences to share with young children, including serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, studying oceanography aboard a research vessel sailing the Carribbean, and teaching English in a variety of countries around the world.
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Tea Cooper
Tea Cooper writes Australian contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.
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Rosalie Ham
Rosalie Ham was born, and raised in Jerilderie, NSW, Australia. She completed her secondary education at St Margaret's School, Berwick in 1972. After travelling and working at a variety of jobs (including aged care) for most of her twenties, Rosalie completed a Bachelor of Education majoring in Drama and Literature (Deakin University, 1989), and achieved a Master of Arts, Creative Writing (RMIT, Melbourne) in 2007. Rosalie lives in Brunswick, Melbourne, and when she is not writing, Rosalie teaches literature. Her novels have sold over 50,000 copies.
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Mary-Lou Stephens
Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.
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She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband.
Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now travels the world slowly and writes, mostly.
Her debut novel The Last of the Apple Blossom was published by HarperCollins (HQ) in 2021.
The Chocolate Factory (HarperCollins HQ) 2024.
The Jam Maker (HarperCollins HQ) 2025
Praise for The Choco -
Claire Saxby
An Australian writer of fiction, non fiction and poetry for children
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Jamie Michalak
Jamie Michalak is the author of more than thirty children's books, including the highly praised Joe and Sparky series of early readers; Frank and Bean; Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter; and Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites, co-written with Debbi Michiko Florence.
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When not writing, she can be found singing off-key, playing outside, or hanging with her two sons. Jamie was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in the same neighborhood where Dr. Seuss once lived. She now resides in Barrington, Rhode Island. -
Tania Blanchard
Tania lives in Sydney with her husband and three children. Coming from a family with rich cultural heritage with a German mother and Italian father, stories have always been in her blood. Following a career in physiotherapy, it was only when she had her family that she decided to return to her passion of writing.
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Her debut novel is The Girl from Munich, the story she has always wanted to write, inspired by the fascinating stories told by her German grandmother, and she is currently working on the sequel, set in Australia in the 1950s.
Tania is excited to have found her light bulb moment, her love for writing historical fiction. She looks forward to delving further into her interests of history and family stories to enrich and bring to life -
Meredith Appleyard
Meredith Appleyard lives in the Clare Valley wine-growing region of South Australia, two hours north of Adelaide. As a registered nurse and midwife, she has worked in a wide range of country health practice settings, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service. She has done agency nursing in London and volunteer work in Vietnam. After her first manuscript was rejected, she joined a writers' group, attended workshops and successfully completed an Advanced Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing with the Adelaide College of the Arts. And she kept working. When she isn't writing, Meredith is reading, helping organise the annual Clare Writers' Festival, or at home with her husband and her border collie, Daisy. The Country Practice is her first no
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Jessica Au
Jessica Au is an Australian editor and bookseller, and author of the novels Cargo and Cold Enough for Snow.
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Au won the inaugural Novel prize in 2020, the 2023 Victorian Premier's Prize for Literature, the Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction.
She is based in Melbourne and has worked as deputy editor at the quarterly journal Meanjin and as a fact-checker for Aeon magazine. -
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Mary-Anne O'Connor
Mary-Anne O'Connor nee Best grew up in Wahroonga in the Bushland Shire of Hornsby-Kuringai, northern Sydney. The youngest of six children, her childhood was spent exploring the local bush and playing music with her siblings and close neighbours. An avid reader, she devoured her mother Dorn's extensive library and was often found trying to finish a chapter by torchlight late at night. She also began to fill every blank piece of paper in the house with stories and drawings of her own and dreamt of becoming a writer one day.
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When she was twelve her father Kevin Best left his established career in the stock-market to become one of Australia's best-loved artists. The perseverance and ultimate triumph she witnessed during those years left her insp -
Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay, AM was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book The Power of One.
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Morris Gleitzman
Morris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.
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Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-wi -
Rachel Louise Driscoll
Rachel Louise Driscoll won the Curtis Brown Creative scholarship in 2020. Originally from the South West of England, she lives in the North East with her husband and cat, Cleopatra. Nephthys is her debut novel. She was inspired to write Clemmie's story by an experience she had at a local museum as a child where she was allowed to hold a mummified ancient Egyptian cat. Enjoying the hours of avid research required, Rachel even wrote some of the book wearing a corset in order to capture Clemmie’s experience more accurately!
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Ruth Park
Ruth Park was a New Zealand-born author, who spent most of her life in Australia. She was born in Auckland, and her family later moved to Te Kuiti further south in the North Island of New Zealand, where they lived in isolated areas.
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During the Great Depression her working class father worked on bush roads, as a driver, on relief work, as a sawmill hand, and finally shifted back to Auckland as council worker living in a state house. After Catholic primary school Ruth won a partial scholarship to secondary school, but this was broken by periods of being unable to afford to attend. For a time she stayed with relatives on a Coromandel farming estate where she was treated like a serf by the wealthy landowner until she told the rich woman what she -
Darry Fraser
Hello, and thank you for visiting. I live and work in South Australia on an island not unlike the fictional but very beautiful Australis Island (which is featured in some of my earlier stories).
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Part of my writing journey is from places I've lived - Central Australia to Australis Island (AKA Kangaroo Island) and from places I haven't lived, but have been fascinated by, historical Australia on the mighty River Murray in the 19th century.
I'm delighted to have you with me. -
Neil Forsyth
Neil Forsyth was born in Scotland in 1978 and grew up in the much admired city of Dundee. His writing career began in books (a largely forgotten form of communication made famous by Jesus and, separately, Agatha Christie). He has written two novels, Let Them Come Through and San Carlos while Other People’s Money, the true story of the Scottish credit card fraudster Elliot Castro was released in seven countries and is being developed as a feature film.
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Forsyth first created Bob Servant in a trilogy of books: Delete This At Your Peril – The Bob Servant Emails, Bob Servant – Hero Of Dundee and Why Me? The Very Important Emails of Bob Servant. Forsyth wrote a BBC Radio 4 adaptation - The Bob Servant Emails followed by the television series Bob S -
Peta Miller
Peta Miller has been in the book trade for over twenty years, in both publishing and retail. When not writing, she works part-time at Berkelouw Books in Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast.
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In November 2018, Peta received the Charlotte Waring Barton Award for her unpublished manuscript, "Sing Us Home", the prize being a mentorship with a HarperCollins author. After development, this manuscript has become The Ship's Midwife which is her debut novel. -
Belinda Alexandra
Belinda Alexandra has been published to wide acclaim in Australia and internationally. She is the daughter of a Russian mother and an Australian father and has been an intrepid traveller since her youth. Her love of other cultures is matched by her passion for her home country, Australia, where she is a volunteer carer for the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).
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Belinda is also an ambassador for the World League for the Protection of Animals (Australia) and lives in Sydney with a menagerie of adored pets.
Join Belinda's community of readers at facebook.com/BelindaAlexandraAuthor -
Marcus Clarke
Australian writer Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke, known as Marcus Clarke, was born in Kensington, London. His mother died when he was just a small child and he was raised by his father, a lawyer.
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Marcus Clarke moved to Victoria, Australia, where he had an uncle in the provincial town of Ararat, and landed in Melbourne in June 1863. In 1869 Clarke married the actress Marian Dunn and shortly afterwards they started to raise a family of six children. He died of pleurisy at the age of thirty-five. -
Kathy George
Kathy George is an award-winning writer of short stories and fiction. She is the author of "Sargasso", "Estella" and "The Scent of Oranges". Kathy lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her family.
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Carl Merrison
Carl is a Jaru/Kija man from Halls Creek in the Kimberleys in Western Australia. Carl loves spending time out bush with his family; fishing, hunting and swimming in waterholes. He loves AFL- he is a Level 3 coach! Carl was awarded State Finalist of the Australian of the Year Award- Local Hero for Western Australia in 2016 for his work as lifeguard, football coach, Clontarf worker and youth mentor. Carl was the 2020 Black&Write Fellowship recipient for his series of picture books: Backyard Sports. He was a shortlisted author for the Western Australian Writing Fellowship.
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Deborah Abela
Deb knew she wanted to be a writer when she was 7 years old. Her first story was about a man made out of cheese. It wasn’t very good. She’s had much more practice writing since then and strangely enough her first writing job was for a kids’ show on channel Ten called “Cheez TV”. After 7 years of writing scripts about everything from llamas to bungy jumping and how to go to the toilet in outer space, Deb wrote her first novel - Max Remy Superspy Part 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.
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It’s about a feisty girl called Max and her best friend Linden who travel the world as secret agents fighting bad guys. It’s an action packed series based on loads of adventures Deb had, just after she left school. She’s slept beside alligators, been h -
Tania Ingram
Tania Ingram is an internationally published author of children’s picture books and novels including the rollicking Jinny and Cooper series and the bestselling Aggie Flea series. She has acted as a peer assessor on the literature panel for Arts South Australia’s grants program and is an active ambassador for the Premier’s Reading Challenge.
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She was born in Whyalla, South Australia and moved to Adelaide as a teenager. She studied at the University of South Australia and graduated with a Masters Degree in clinical psychology. Prior to becoming a full time writer she was a child psychologist, specialising in brain injury, disability and adolescent mental health.
Tania’s first picture book, Dog on Log was published in 2013. This story evolved fro -
Kirsty Manning
Kirsty Manning grew up in northern New South Wales. She has degrees in literature and communications and worked as an editor and publishing manager in book publishing for over a decade. A country girl with wanderlust, her travels and studies have taken her through most of Europe, the east and west coasts of the United States and pockets of Asia. Kirsty’s journalism specialising in lifestyle and travel regularly appear in magazines, newspapers and online.
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With husband Alex Wilcox, Kirsty is a partner in the award-winning Melbourne wine bar Bellota, and the Prince Wine Store in Sydney and Melbourne. -
Annie Lyons
Dear Reader,
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thank you for dropping by to visit my Goodreads page. I am the author of seven novels and one novella. My first book, Not Quite Perfect was a Kindle number one bestseller and my novel featuring octogenarian, Eudora Honeysett was a USA Today bestseller as well as being nominated for the RNA Contemporary Novel Award. My latest book, The Air Raid Book Club is my first historical fiction novel. It tells the story of recently-widowed bookseller, Gertie Bingham and fifteen-year-old Hedy Fischer, who are thrown together by the events of the Second World War and who form a book club to support their community through these dark times. This book is particularly special to me as I’ve spent my life around books, from trips to the library -
Duncan Smith
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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David Knoff
David Knoff is a speaker and specialist in remote leadership, management in isolation, Antarctic operations, resilience and mental-health strategies and practices. He has worked for 15 years as an officer in the Australian Army, in international relations with the Australian Government and as station and voyage leader for the Australian Antarctic Program. His toughest mission was one nobody saw coming: when COVID-19 hit, the world came to a virtual standstill and the team of expeditioners he was leading in Antarctica was stranded in one of the most isolated places on earth. David lives in Melbourne. 537 Days of Winter is his first book.
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Helen Signy
I'm an Australian writer who grew up in England – or, depending how I feel that day, an English writer who lives in Australia. I spent much of my youth travelling the world before becoming a print journalist in Asia and then in Sydney. Most of my writing these days involves science communications for academics, governments and not-for-profits, but I have never lost my passion for telling an amazing story. Maya’s Dance is my first foray into fiction.
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Diane Armstrong
Diane was born in Poland and arrived in Australia in 1948.
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At the age of seven she decided to become a writer. Her first article, about teaching at a Blackboard Jungle school in London, was published in The Australian Women's Weekly in 1965. Diane subsequently became a freelance journalist, and over three thousand of her investigative articles, personal experience stories, profiles and travel stories have been published in newspapers and magazines such as Readers Digest, Vogue, The Bulletin, Harper's Bazaar, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend, and The Age. Her articles have also appeared in major publications in the UK, Canada, Poland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Holland and South Africa.
Over the years she has received numerous -
Amy Ehrlich
Amy Ehrlich is the author of more than thirty books for young readers and is also a winner of The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for her novel Joyride, which was also chosen Booklist Choice Best Book of the Decade. She lives on a farm in Northern Vermont with her husband and a great many domestic and agricultural animals.
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Alexandra Almond
Alexandra writes mostly cosy fantasy, with a bit of contemporary romance on the side. Her debut novel THOROUGHLY DISENCHANTED won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel 2024.
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She lives and works on Bunurong land in Melbourne (Naarm) with her tennis-ball obsessed Labrador, Captain. Before turning her hand to writing, previous roles included stablehand, clown, HR assistant, flower buyer, procurement manager, cleaner and human-centred designer, which is her current day job. She might have included footballer on that list if the AFLW had arrived three decades earlier; and if she had any ability. She likes trains, books, dogs and cups of tea. Her favourite colour is green. -
Raelke Grimmer
Raelke Grimmer is a YA author living on Larrakia Country in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. He young adult novel White Noise was published by UWA Publishing 2024. Raelke holds a PhD in creative writing from Flinders University.
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Madeleine Cleary
Madeleine's debut novel, The Butterfly Women (29 April 2025, Affirm Press), inspired by her family history, was chosen as Dymocks Fiction Book of the Month. Her writing was shortlisted for The Australian Fiction Prize in 2024. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Melbourne and an associated honours degree from RMIT University. Oblivious to her history, Madeleine completed her studies a block from her family’s brothel in Juliet Terrace, which inspired her debut novel. Madeleine served as an Australian diplomat in China. Before joining the public service, Madeleine spent five years working in bookshops, where she met her husband. Madeleine is from Naarm/Melbourne and lives at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges.
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Dylan Alcott
Dylan Martin Alcott OAM is an Australian wheelchair tennis player, wheelchair basketball player, radio host and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team, known colloquially as the Australian "Rollers".
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Dylan is the 2022 Australian of the Year ~Wikipedia -
Kirsten Ealand
Kirsten Ealand lives in a little patch of rainforest in northern NSW with her family and a slightly concerning number of geckos. She writes fresh, relatable books for kids, exploring themes of friendship and the environment, that she hopes will spark wonder, empathy and conversations. When not writing, she enjoys gardening and exploring in her camper, and works in her regional public library getting kids excited about books and reading.
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Coral Vass
Coral Vass is an award-winning Australian children's author. She has always loved telling stories and has been writing books for over ten years. Coral is an ambassador for Reading Out of Poverty and is passionate about giving all children an equal opportunity to read.
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Aunty Fay Muir
Fay Stewart-Muir is a Boonwurrung Elder who cares about sharing her culture and stories with all, to enjoy and take on a journey of learning.
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Alan Tucker
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Shelby Matheson
Shelby Matheson is a born-and-raised Australian with a Bachelor in journalism and creative writing, as well as a graduate diploma in editing and publishing from USQ. She has been writing full-length novels since she was fourteen and has always known that being an author was the only career for her. In her spare time, she enjoys video games, drawing, crochet, collecting books (and even reading them), but her greatest passion will always be writing and escaping to the worlds in her head.
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You can find her on Instagram and Threads as @shelbymathesonbooks -
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Julie Bennett
Julie Bennett fell in love with words at a very young age and soon after leaving school began a career in libraries. In her late twenties she decided to follow her dream to write for a living and, after graduating university, became a journalist. In 2004 she launched a public relations company, which she still manages today. Julie lives with her wonderful husband, Bruce and their gorgeous kelpie cross cattle dog, Riley, within walking distance of the Sydney Opera House where she performed as a child extra back in 1973, the year it opened. 'The Lost Letters of Rose Carey' is Julie’s second novel. Her debut 'The Understudy' was published by Simon & Schuster in 2022.
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Praise for The Understudy
'This piece of Australian historical fiction rings ma -
Lucie Stevens
Lucie Stevens is a children’s author who grew up in a semi-rural area of Dharug Country, north-west of Sydney, and now lives on Gadigal land. She spent her childhood days clomping around in gumboots and her nights looking up at the stars. Her house was definitely not haunted. After working in Australian publishing houses for many years, Lucie moved to Berlin where she helped make kids’ education outreach programs for the UK and European Space Agencies. Her house in Berlin wasn’t haunted either, but she did live beside the cemetery where the Brothers Grimm are buried, so perhaps her neighbours were ghosts. R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins is Lucie’s first children’s novel. Look out for its sequel in 2026!
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Tess Evans
I was raised in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill and now live among the trees in Eltham. I am married with three grown children and four grandchildren. I love to travel, my most intense experiences being walking the Inca Trail and riding a camel in the Sahara desert.
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Something about my working life. (I don't holiday all the time)
I worked in schools, full-time at first, and then as an emergency teacher when my children were small. When they started school, I moved to TAFE were I began as a teacher, then manager of programs for long-term unemployed. This was a very satisfying part of my life – we did some great work in those programs. When the funding was withdrawn, I worked in the money-making area – a challenge, but not as rewarding pe -
Mary Chamberlin
We are a writing team and authors of the picture book “Mama Panya’s Pancakes”, #2 on Jennifer Garner’s list of Top 6 Children’s Books, winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, and featured book in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. We are active Network Reps for SCBWI-Illinois as well. Additional biography details are online at https://www.scbwi.org/members-public/... and our twitter handle is @richnmary_write
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Sue Leather
Sue Leather has been in the ELT field for thirty years. Originally from the north west of England, between 1985 and 2000, she worked as a teacher, teacher trainer and educational manager in Spain, UK and the Netherlands. She has an MA in Education from the Institute of Education, University of London. She has written a number of articles for ELT journals and magazines, and is a frequent presenter at international conferences. In 2000, she set up her own consultancy group, Sue Leather Associates, and works on educational projects all over the world. Her main interests within ELT are materials development, teacher training and trainer training.
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Sue has been writing original learner fiction since 1990, and has written some thirty readers . Her -
Patricia Hubbell
Patricia Hubbell has been writing poetry since she was eleven years old.
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In 1998, her Wrapping Paper Romp was selected as a Parents Magazine Book of the Year.
Patricia Hubbell lives with her husband, Harold Hornstein, in Easton, Connecticut, the small town where she was born.
Remembering how much their children and grandchildren loved to bounce when they were very young prompted her to write Bouncing Time. "Bouncing is one of the joyous things little kids do," she says. "It reflects their constant enthusiasm." -
Lynne Stringer
Lynne Stringer has been passionate about writing all her life, beginning with short stories in her primary school days. She began writing professionally as a journalist and was the editor of a small newspaper (later magazine) for seven years, before turning her hand to screenplay writing and novels. Lynne currently works as a professional editor and proofreader. She lives in Australia with her family.
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J.H. Fletcher
J.H. Fletcher is the prize-winning author of fifteen novels, published to both critical and popular acclaim in Australia, Germany and the UK, as well as numerous short stories and plays for radio and television.
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He was educated in England and France and travelled and worked in Europe, Asia and Africa before emigrating to Australia in 1991. Home is now a house within sight of the Western Tier Mountains in northern Tasmania. -
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Chris Sarra
Born in Queensland’s Bundaberg in 1967 as the youngest of 10 children to an Italian father and an Aboriginal mother, Chris Sarra is now the head of the Stronger Smarter Institute at QUT. He was formerly the principal of Cherbourg State School. He has had an extensive career in education, completing a Diploma of Teaching, a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Education and a PhD in Psychology.
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Cheryl Adnams
Cheryl Adnams has published four Australian rural romance novels and three Australian historical novels. Cheryl has a Diploma in Freelance Travel Writing and Photography and has lived and worked in the United States and Canada, and spent two years working with a tour company in Europe.
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While she loves to travel overseas, especially to Italy, her favourite writing retreat is her own home on the stunning blue coastline of South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula.
When she's not writing, Cheryl is still creating in her busy full-time job as a learning designer -
Helen Edwards
Dr Helen Edwards is an Australian author and speaker who writes stories of nature, magic and history. She has a PhD in Psychology and a long background working in mental health.
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Helen is a mid-career SA Literary Fellow in 2025, supported by Writers' SA and the State Library of South Australia. Her fellowship project - A Light on the Rocks - features the true history of the wreck of the S.S Admella and the Cape Jaffa lighthouse, as well as exploring themes of ocean conservation. It will be published on 28/1/26 with Riveted Press. This project was also supported by the History Trust of South Australia’s South Australian History Fund.
Set across two timelines, connected by place, mystery, and magic, A Light on the Rocks is a haunting tale, abou