Esmé Louise James: Kinky History

Esmé Louise James (@esme.louisee) is a PhD Candidate, TEDx Speaker, and creator of the Kinky History with over 3 million followers. She has produced a range of non-fiction articles for publications such as the Age, the ABC and the Conversation, as well as short stories and poetry, for publications such as Hardie Grant Press and Archer. Esmé’s book Kinky History was published by Pantera Press in Australia, and TarcherPerigee worldwide, in 2024. She received funding from Screen Australia's Every Voice initiative for the TikTok series, SexTistics, and was nominated for Best Digital Creator at the 2022 AACTA Awards. In 2023, Esmé was honoured with the University of Melbourne's Rising Star Alumni Award.

Kris Kneen is the award-winning author of fiction, poetry and non-fiction including An Uncertain Grace which was shortlisted for the Stella Prize, Wintering, shortlisted for the Davitt award and three QPLA awards, and The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen which was shortlisted for two QPLA awards and the Margarey Medal. Their poetry collection Eating My Grandmother won the Thomas Shapcott Prize. Their latest book Fat Girl Dancing is shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. They have written and directed broadcast television documentaries and were the Copyright Agency Ltd Non-fiction Fellow in 2020.