Hook into Books™

Award winning children’s author, Dimity Powell, loves filling every spare moment with words. She writes and reviews exclusively for children with over 30 published stories and is the Managing Editor for Kids' Book Review. Picture books are her jam. Her latest titles include, Pippa and The Troublesome Twins (2023), This is My Dad (2022), Oswald Messweather (2021), Pippa (2019), the SCBWI Crystal Kite 2019 award-winning At the End of Holyrood Lane (2018), and critically acclaimed, The Fix-It Man (2017). She can’t wait to launch her latest picture, The Boy Who Lost His Laugh – a sensitive glimpse into foster parenting, family relationships and adoption – in 2025.

Dimity is a seasoned presenter and dedicated Books in Homes Australia Volunteer Role Model, Story City Community Mentor and G.A.T.EWAYS presenter who loves sailing on the beam and reading under trees but still can’t surf despite living on the Gold Coast.

Hakea Hustler is a passionate English teacher and author who has travelled all over Australia, collecting story ideas and inspiration. Carl Merrison is a Jaru/Kija man from Halls Creek in the Kimberley who loves sharing his stories. Together, they have written Black Cockatoo (Magabala), Tracks of the Missing (Magabala) and My Deadly Boots (Hachette).

They love sharing their stories to increase literacy in remote outback communities and help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people see themselves in books. They also love to share the diverse experiences of people who live in the outback with wider Australia.

Jackie French is one of Australia's most loved and well-known children's authors. She was the Australian Children's Laureate for 2014-15 and has written over 140 fiction and non-fiction books. Her writing career spans 25 years and includes 248 wombats, 3,721 bush rats, 36 languages and over 60 awards in Australia and overseas.

Jackie has been a full-time writer for over twenty years, and she is acclaimed in both literary and children's choice awards. She is passionate about history, the environment and the conservation of wildlife and our planet. Jackie is also dyslexic and is a strong advocate of help for children with learning difficulties.

Kate Foster is a best-selling and award-winning children's author living on the Gold Coast with her family and second-hand dogs. Her novels are published in Australia, the UK, and the US, and include PAWS, The Bravest Word, Harriet Hound, The Unlikely Heroes Club and Small Acts.

Kate founded The ASLA Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Children’s Book Award in 2023, and runs Author Pen Pals, a new Australia-wide initiative in which children’s book creators write letters to groups of students throughout the school year.

Katherine is the critically acclaimed author and illustrator of thirteen children's books published worldwide, including the popular Cranky Chicken series, Little Wing, and the beloved Squish Rabbit series.

Her books have received glowing reviews in The New York Times, starred Kirkus reviews and been shortlisted for numerous Australian awards. She is regularly booked to speak in schools, libraries and festivals and is a passionate advocate for literacy and the arts.

In another life, Katherine worked for many years as a paediatric occupational therapist, specialising as a children's counsellor, and she has also studied graphic design. She grew up by the beach in Queensland and currently lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Kristin Darell has been a passionate storyteller since she was a child. Whether it was making up adventures with her twin sister, or writing about the world around her, she was rarely found without a pen and paper in hand. As an adult, she made this passion her life. She worked as a broadcast news and sports journalist for major Australian news organisations for more than twenty years.

Kristin’s four-book debut junior fiction series Football Fever (Penguin Random House) is being published in 2022 and 2023. She is also a co-author of the middle-grade children’s adventure novel Into Tordon (2016: MidnightSun) and has contributed to children’s writing anthologies.

Kristin is a strong advocate for children’s literature, working as the Program Manager for the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation. She is also an author for the Littlescribe learning platform, sharing tips on writing fiction and non-fiction.

She lives on Sydney’s northern beaches with her husband, two children, two dogs, pet snake and three-legged pygmy bearded dragon.

Ky Garvey is a writer and podcaster based in Brisbane. She is the host of Totally Lit, an award-winning interview style podcast celebrating reading, writing and creating literature. She chats with Australian publishing creatives, sharing their publishing journey and discussing their creative practices. Ky writes shorts stories, is a children’s author and an advocate within the disability and carers space. Her debut picture book, Easy Peasy, was published in February 2023 by EK Books. Ky's writing has been included in several anthologies and has been recognised in several writing competitions including the Hunter Writers Centre Grieve Writing Competition and Carers QLD Writing Competition.

In 2024, Ky was proud to launch the Inaugural Totally Lit Micro Fiction Prize. At home, she enjoys life with her husband, two sons, cat and cavoodle.

Michael Gerard Bauer is a Brisbane writer of picture books through to Young Adult novels. He has been shortlisted for Children's Book Council of Australia awards on five occasions, winning in 2004 in the Young Adult category for The Running Man and again in 2018 in the Early Childhood category for his first picture book Rodney Loses It. In 2019 his YA novel The Things That Will Not Stand won the Prime Minister Literary award.

Michael's other popular books include the Ishmael Series, the Eric Vale Series and Just a Dog. Michael's books are sold in over 42 countries, have been translated into 12 languages and are widely set as school texts.

An international award- winning author and businesswoman. Two-time winner of the International Book Award and finalist in the USA Best Book Awards, Michelle also received a Gellett Burgess Award and a Silver Moonbeam Award for her contribution to celebrating diversity in literature. She has written many books including I'll Ride With You, Johnny's Beard and Glitch.

Sally Rippin is a best-selling and beloved author for children. Her most popular series include Billie B Brown, Hey Jack! and School of Monsters, and she has over 10 million books in print worldwide. She is also the author of one book for adults, Wild Things: How We Learn to Read and What Can Happen If We Don’t.

Sally loves to write stories with heart, featuring characters that resonate with children, and is passionate about literacy and access to stories. She travels across the world speaking with parents, teachers and librarians about how to engage struggling readers.

In 2024, Sally was named the eighth Australian Children’s Laureate, a two-year appointment to promote the importance and transformational power of reading, creativity and story in the lives of young Australians.

Sophie Beer is an award-winning illustrator and author living in Brisbane, Australia. She completed a dual degree in Law and Creative Industries with distinction at the Queensland University of Technology but found the whole law thing unutterably dull. She now works primarily in children's and editorial illustration.

As a writer, her work has appeared in Frankie Magazine and The Big Issue. Sophie is passionate about equality, social causes, and Aldi choc-chip biscuits.