Who is YA really for?

Danielle Binks is a Melbourne-based writer and literary agent with Jacinta di Mase Management. In 2017, she edited and contributed to Begin, End, Begin, an anthology of new Australian young adult writing inspired by the #LoveOzYA movement, which won the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children (Ages 13+). The Year the Maps Changed, Danielle’s bestselling middle-grade novel, was a 2021 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Notable Book. And her 2021 YA novel The Monster of Her Age won in the Young Adult category of the 2022 Indie Book Awards. Her new middle grade novel out in 2023 is Six Summers of Tash & Leopold. Danielle is also teaching Fiction & Young Adult Writing in the Associate Degree of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT University.

Emily Winter was raised on stories in suburban Brisbane. She enjoys nothing more than boiling up fiction, blending the flavours of language on the page in an effort to capture and preserve something true. She currently studies at the University of Queensland, combining her passions for creative writing, music and history.

Sophie is currently completing Year 9 at a rural High School, and wants to study Business after she graduates. She is a passionate reader/writer, and enjoys a wide range of genres (especially fantasy and mystery). Whenever Sophie is not reading in her spare time, she loves to bake for her family and help out around the farm. 

Kieren is a high school History and English teacher, and is currently studying writing, editing and publishing at the University of Queensland. He is passionate about the power of stories and storytelling (whether that be through books, movies, musicals, or any other format). Kieren’s favourite genres are fantasy and queer romance, and he can often be found reading one of them while succumbing to his coffee addiction.