Ben Ryan is an Australian writer and filmmaker who tells genre-bending stories for young readers about the monsters we fight and the ones we carry with us. He was a finalist in the American Fiction Awards and received an honourable mention at the Eric Hoffer Book Prize. Ben’s screenwriting has featured on Coverfly’s Red List and in 2025, Ben optioned his first feature film project, which was developed with Screen Australia.

Ben loves tropical islands, urban jungles and Dutch canals. He now lives on Australia’s Gold Coast, which he describes as the perfect mix of all three.

Ben’s book Coming Out at the End of the World was published by MidnightSun in September 2026.

Jen Sherrington is a writer and educator based in Perth, Western Australia. She loves creating stories that celebrate the wonders of reading, writing, and creative thinking. Family moments, friendship fun and farm life adventures sneak into her books. Jen is the author of Grandma Love and Grandpa, Read This Book, published by Wild Eyed Press in 2023. Her article Motorbike Frog was published in The School Magazine in 2020.

Latin dancing, craft dabbling and world Continue reading Jen Sherrington →

Cerise Madsen is a speech pathologist in Brisbane, where she runs her own practice supporting language development through speech, storytelling, and sign. Fluent in Norwegian, French, and the ever-evolving language of tweens and teens, Cerise has shared her love of communication by teaching English to international students, Norwegian to refugees, and now supporting children, teens and adults with disabilities.

Her writing is inspired by her passion for Continue reading Cerise Madsen →

Lauren Mullinder is an illustrator, graphic designer, artist and educator. Based in her home studio in Adelaide, South Australia, Lauren spends her time drawing, exploring the natural world and developing workshops in art, drawing fundamentals and environment design. She has a passion for children’s literature and has illustrated seven children’s books.

She loves visiting schools and running illustration workshops, where children have a hands-on experience creating their own Continue reading Lauren Mullinder →

Kristin Martin is an author, poet and primary school teacher with a fondness for writing in rhyme. She draws inspiration from the natural world and from observing her young students’ imaginative play.

Her books include Where Shall We Travel Today?, Honey Possum’s Bush Café, Banjo Frog’s Concert Spectacular, To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme? and the Easter Bilby’s Friends series. Kristin lives in Adelaide, Continue reading Kristin Martin →

Katrina Germein is a best-selling children’s author, published and translated internationally. Her popular titles include Bev and Kev, Fabulous Frogs, One Little Duck, and the My Dad Thinks He’s Funny series. Katrina’s work has been Highly Commended in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and won a CBCA Honour, as well as CBCA short-listings and Notables. Katrina is a past winner of the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. Her books have been recorded five times for the children’s television show, Continue reading Katrina Germein →

Lisa Coutts is an illustrator based in Naarm, Melbourne, Australia. Her work has features in over 20 of varying genres, and her greatest love is picture books. Lisa loves creating charming characters and placing them in quirky and whimsical worlds. She is the illustrator of The Great Book Swapping Machine by Emma Allen and she designed the cover art on Tim Winton’s Blueback, with more books in production. Lisa’s art practice incorporates mixed media techniques including coloured pencil, dry pastel, acrylic and watercolour paints, and Procreate.

Her work has been described as charming, delicious, quirky, whimsical and that it hurts people’s hearts in a GOOD way! When not in her studio, you’ll find Lisa Continue reading Lisa Coutts →

Andrea Rowe is a best-selling, award-winning picture book author. Her picture book, Jetty Jumping (illustrated by Hannah Sommerville), was awarded the 2022 CBCA Picture Book of the Year – Early Childhood and the 2023 Australian Speech Pathology Picture Book of the Year. In the Rockpool and Amid the Sand Dunes (Hardie Grant) were both awarded the 2024 and 2025 CBCA Notable Picture Books of the Year – Early Childhood.

Andrea loves to write stories where characters explore the great outdoors, ponder big Continue reading Andrea Rowe →

Yvonne Low is a writer, illustrator and award-winning fine artist, creating picture books, poetry and junior fiction. While nature is her main inspiration, through her background in the performing arts as a dancer and choreographer, theatre, film, music and foreign cultures also feed her imagination. Her work is whimsical and often has a dash of humour and wordplay. Continue reading Yvonne Low →

Kate Talbot is an Australian-born, New Zealand-based children’s book writer and illustrator. Working digitally, she is passionate about instilling a love for stories and storytelling in little people and hopes to nurture life-long readers and artists through her quirky characters and Continue reading Kate Talbot →

Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker, and author/illustrator of children’s books. She enjoys every aspect of creating books for kids, especially illustration. Nicky’s illustration style is often described as whimsical, emotive, soft, and expressive. Her love of teaching sees her busy with school visits and Continue reading Nicky Johnston →

Gisela Ervin-Ward writes stuff for kids to read and teaches them how to read it. She grew up on a farm in Western Victoria and moved to South-East Asia to be an aid worker for many years before returning to Australia with her family to live in the Macedon Ranges. She’s now a writer of children’s tales and specialist literacy teacher, teaching neurodivergent children how to read. Continue reading Gisela Ervin-Ward →

Hélène Magisson is a critically acclaimed French-Australian illustrator of many books for children. Before Hélène turned to book illustration, she was a painting restorer in Paris, where she was also trained in the art of medieval illumination. Hélène’s children’s books are widely known and loved across the world. Her timeless style lends itself beautifully to classics, such as The Velveteen Rabbit (New Frontier, 2021), and also universal contemporary stories, such as Before You Were Born (HarperCollins, 2020).

Hélène is frequently recognised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. She was Continue reading Hélène Magisson →

Rochelle Siemienowicz is a writer, editor and arts journalist. Her first book was Fallen (Affirm Press, 2015), a memoir about sex, religion and marrying too young. Her debut novel, Double Happiness (MidnightSun, 2024) is a polyamorous love story. Rochelle’s work has been published widely, including in The Age, SBS, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue, Metro, ArtsHub and Kalliope X. She has a PhD in Australian cinema and was for many years a film and TV critic and columnist. She lives in Melbourne with her two partners, her son, and a beloved Continue reading Rochelle Siemienowicz →

Dr Lara Cain Gray is a writer, librarian and storytelling advocate based in Brisbane, Australia. Her professional past spans library and museum curatorship, academic research, and corporate and creative writing and editing. She is currently Head of Acquisitions at nonprofit publisher Library For All, delivering cross-cultural children’s books to remote and low-income communities. She reads every day and will NEVER Continue reading Dr Lara Cain Gray →