Deb Fitzpatrick is the author of six novels for adults, young adults and children. Her books have been named Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, shortlisted in the West Australian Young Readers Book Awards, and published in the US. Deb loves using stories from real life in her novels and regularly teaches creative writing at schools. Deb is the recipient of a 2020 May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust Creative Time Residential Fellowship to write her next novel.

Glenn B Swift is a Western Australian Storyteller with a particular talent for engaging large groups in participative stories. His picture book, The Ghost in the Bell Tower, is the stranger than fiction tale of how a ghost came to Perth from England with the bells now ringing in our Swan Bell Tower.

Kelly Canby is an award-winning, internationally published, illustrator and author of over two dozen books for children. Kelly was born in London, England, but has lived in Australia since the age of three, which is probably around the same age she started playing with pencils and crayons, and it was probably only a few years after that that she decided playing with pencils and crayons was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Kelly lives in Perth and is probably working on a new project as you read this.

Denis Knight is a computer programmer who grew up geeking out about the works of JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. He has also worked as a technical writer, a delivery boy, a tutor, and, for one glorious summer, a tour guide on Rottnest Island. These days, he spends his nights writing science fiction adventure novels. His latest titles are Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows.

Will Kostakis won the Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year during his high school years. Will’s first novel was released when he was 19, and his second, The First Third, won the 2014 Gold Inky Award. Rebel Gods is his latest novel.

James Foley writes and illustrates picture books, middle-grade novels and comics for kids. He’s the author/illustrator of the S.Tinker Inc. graphic novel series for middle primary: Brobot, Dungzilla and Gastronauts star Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of 12, and Joe Tinker, her stinky baby brother.

Jessica Townsend is a multi-award winning author who lives on the Sunshine Coast. She has a fascination over public transport, ancient cities, hotels, opera singers, Halloween, secret societies and gigantic cats. Jessica’s book, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow was the biggest-selling Australian children's debut since records began. Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow is her latest title.

Anna Walker writes and illustrates children's books and is based in Melbourne. Crafted with pencil, ink and collage, Anna's illustrations are inspired by the everyday details of life and the amusing antics of her menagerie. Anna's most recent picture book as author-illustrator are the highly acclaimed Florette. She has recently released Don’t Forget in collaboration with Jane Godwin.

Cristy Burne grew up climbing trees, jumping drains, chasing cows and inventing stories. She has a passion for learning through doing and loves to inspire creativity, daring and resilience in her readers. Cristy is a children’s author and science writer with degrees in biotechnology and science communication. She has also worked as a science circus performer, Santa’s pixie, and atom-smashing reporter.

Gavin Aung Than is a Perth based freelance cartoonist. His webcomic Zen Pencils, a cartoon blog adapting inspirational quotes into comics, has been featured by The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Slate, Buzzfeed, Gawker, Brain Pickings, and listed by PC Mag in the top 100 websites of 2013. His first children’s series, Super Sidekicks, grew out of Gavin's long-time obsession with superheroes.

Campbell Whyte creates comics and illustrations, mixing traditional media with digital elements. His graphic novel series, Home Time is a distinctly Australian fantasy series set in Perth that has been met with critical acclaim. When not making comics, he teaches comics making at the children’s art school, Milktooth. Home Time: Beyond the Weaving (Book Two) has been released.

R.A. Spratt is the author of The Peski Kids, Friday Barnes and The Adventures of Nanny Piggins. In her previous life she was a television writer. Her podcast ‘Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt’ was launched in February 2020 and already has a huge following from around the world. R.A. Spratt lives in NSW with her three chickens, two goldfish, a dog, a husband and two daughters.

T.C. Shelley has been teaching English for over twenty years. She began writing novels to entertain her daughter, who wisely suggested that she try to get them published. The first 2 books in her acclaimed middle-grade fantasy series, The Monster Who Wasn’t and The Werewolves Who Weren’t are out now. Shelley lives in Perth with her family.

Dr Helen Milroy is a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. She was born and educated in Perth and has a passionate interest in health and wellbeing, especially for children. She is currently a professor at UWA, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, and Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission.

Meg McKinlay is a children’s writer and poet whose work ranges from picture books through to young adult fiction. Her publications include the Prime Minister's Literary Award winning A Single Stone, and Bella and the Wandering House. Meg grew up in central Victoria, and now lives near the ocean in Fremantle and spends her days writing, reading and rambling.

Bren MacDibble grew up in heartland New Zealand. After 20 years in Melbourne, Bren sold everything, spending two years living, working and travelling around Australia via bus. She now resides in Kalbarri, WA. She writes children and young adult books. Her latest novel, Across the Risen Sea was published in 2020. Previous titles, How To Bee, The Dog Runner and In The Dark Spaces have each won multiple prizes.

Julia Lawrinson is an award-winning writer of books for children and young adults. She hails from Perth and, despite leaving school at 15, has a PhD in writing and a Bachelor of Laws with distinction. Julia has worked in a range of organisations, from the arts to parliament to health. Her books are about friendship, family and the occasional Jack Russell.

Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is a first generation Australian Sikh spoken word artist, educator, performer and human rights reformer. She is passionate about diversity and the importance of visibility in the performing arts, and inherently merges her advocacy background with the arts. Having toured globally, she is currently developing works for stage and TV.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times best-selling, internationally recognised and multi award winning YA author with works published in over 30 countries, and some in development for film and TV. Amie lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, rescue dog and large person library. Her latest titles include The World Between Blinks #1 and The Other Side of the Sky.

Katy Jiang, also known as Hong Jiang (江泓), was born, raised and educated in Shanghai, China. From a young age, Katy learned traditional Chinese ink painting and later studied Western painting. Katy lives in Fremantle, with her husband and two boys. She joined SCBWI West in 2017, she has contributed her artistic talent and knowledge to create children’s picture books.

Rebecca Higgie is a writer from Perth. Her whole life has been spent in the company of books, with careers in libraries and universities. She has worked in the State Library of Western Australia and fostered childhood literacy as the Library Officer at Guildford Primary. Her novel, The History of Mischief, won the 2019 Fogarty Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.

Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. He enjoys searching for lost explorers and glittering treasure, delving into mysteries and solving famous cold cases and sharing the stories that he finds. Mark's books include The History Mystery series and Moonwalkers with Terry Denton, which celebrates the moon landing of 1969. His award-winning books about Australia's history have been published around the world.

Jane Godwin is an Australian children’s book publisher, and also the highly acclaimed author of over twenty books for children, across all styles and ages. She often collaborates with children’s book illustrator Anna Walker and together they create beautiful picture books. Their most recent book is Don’t Forget. Jane lives in Melbourne.

A proud Kamilaroi and Euahlayi man from south-west Queensland, Gregg Dreise is on a quest to share his stories and learn more about the ancient and diverse histories and cultures of this country. Gregg is a talented storyteller who uses didgeridoos, guitars, laughter and high-energy performances to pass on culture, unity and wisdom through his educational talks. My Culture and Me is Gregg’s latest title.

Fiona Burrows is an author-illustrator from Perth, Western Australia. She is passionate about creativity, imagination and education, and loves to collect beautiful picture books. When she is not creating books for kids, she teaches writing, research and communication skills at the University of Western Australia. Fiona’s book, Violet & Nothing, was shortlisted for the 2019 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards.

Yuot A. Alaak is a former child refugee from South Sudan and an emerging Western Australian writer. Yuot was part of the globally known ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ and his memoir, Father of the Lost Boys, written about his experiences was shortlisted for the 2018 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award and was published in 2020.