A Great Escape

Meg Caddy is a YA author from Perth, Western Australia. In 2013 her debut novel Waer was shortlisted for the Text Prize, which led to a contract with Text Publishing. Published in 2016, Waer has now been shortlisted for the 2017 CBCA Children's Book of the Year award in the Older Readers category. Meg has been working with children of all ages for the last seven years. She is obsessed with pirates, werewolves, and her overweight cat.

Maria Lewis in the author of the Who's Afraid? series, which is published worldwide and currently being adapted for television by Hoodlum Entertainment. Previously seen on nightly news program The Feed on SBS, her work as a journalist has also appeared in the New York Post, Empire Magazine, Penthouse, The Daily Mail and many more. She's the host and producer of the Eff Yeah Film & Feminism podcast.

A full-time writer since 2001, Garth Nix previously worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s books include the award-winning young adult fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen; the dystopian novel Shade’s Children; the space opera A Confusion of Princes; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt’s Emerald. More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian and The Australian, and his work has been translated into 40 languages. He lives in a Sydney beach suburb with his wife and two children.

Claire Christian tells stories: she is a writer, theatre maker and facilitator. Her first novel, Beautiful Mess won the Text Prize in 2016 and was released in 2017. Her second novel, It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake was released in 2020. Both have been published internationally. She has had the great joy of directing Michelle Law’s smash hit comedy Single Asian Female since 2017. She is a proud member of the Mama’s Boys theatre collective whose hip-hop theatrical explosion Brothers Book Club premiered in 2022. Her Plays Lysa and the Freeborn Dames, Talking to Brick Walls, Hedonism’s Second Album and The Landmine is Me are available through Playlab Inc. Her second novel, It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake was released in 2020. Both her novels have been published internationally. Claire’s last novel West Side Honey was released in April 2023.