Based in the coastal town of Yeppoon, Amy Andrews is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author who has published 90 contemporary romances in both traditional and digital markets. Her books bring all the feels from sass, quirk and laughter to emotional grit and sizzling heat. She is a life member of Romance Writers of Australia.

Catherine Bilson is an author, keen dramatist and junior poetry recital champion. She took up narrating audiobooks as a pandemic project and soon turned it into a second career. With over 150 Audible credits to her name, she is a sought-after narrator, and regularly talks about audiobooks with authors looking to move into this space.

Connor Harvey is a writer, editor, mentor and tutor with ten years of creative writing experience. They helped spearhead the popular Youth Writing and Writing Friday programs at Queensland Writers Centre. Presently, Connor provides dazzling insights to a diverse clientele. They travel the imagination as keenly as the stars.

Eugen Bacon is an African Australian author of several novels and collections. She’s a British Fantasy Award winner, a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award finalist, a Foreword Indies Award winner, and a twice World Fantasy Award finalist. Her collection Danged Black Thing made the Otherwise Award Honor List as a ‘sharp collection of Afro-Surrealist work’ and was a 2024 Philip K Dick Award nominee.

Geneve Flynn is a multi-award-winning editor, author, and poet. She is the co-editor of Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women and a collaborator for Tortured Willows: Bent, Bowed, Unbroken, the winner of two Bram Stoker Awards, a Shirley Jackson Award, an Aurealis Award, a Brave New Weird Award and a 2022 Queensland Writers Fellowship.

Graham Akhurst is an Aboriginal writer and academic from the Kokomini of Northern Queensland. He is a Senior Lecturer of Australian Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing and the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges at UTS. He is the author of Borderland (UWAP, 2023).

Dr Helen Marshall is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Queensland. She has won the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award and the Shirley Jackson Award for her three collections of short stories. Her debut novel The Migration was one of The Guardian’s top science fiction books of the year.

Award-winning Brisbane author HM Hodgson writes about romance (spicy scenes a must!), intrigue and magic. When not writing or reading or daydreaming about her next literary hero, you can find her sipping coffee and eating chocolate (usually together), while happily diving down the rabbit burrow of content creation — her favourite method of staying in touch with book lovers all around the world.

Holly Brunnbauer is a sought-after virtual assistant for published and aspiring authors. She specialises in savvy marketing strategies that help authors reach their ideal reader. Holly is also an award-winning emerging author who writes stories with heart, humour and hijinks. Her debut novel will be released by HarperCollins Australia in 2025.

Jack Roney is a retired police officer and now crime fiction writer and podcaster. His four novels are published by Hawkeye Publishing. The Angels Wept was shortlisted in the Wattpad Awards while The Ghost Train & The Scarlet Moon was runner-up in Hawkeye’s Manuscript Development Prize. As co-host of the Genre Fiction Podcast, Jack Roney interviews fellow authors and industry experts. 

James Maxwell is the internationally best-selling author of 11 science fiction and fantasy novels, with millions of copies sold and available in multiple languages. Known for his vivid world-building and epic, interwoven plots centred on adventure and romance, he published his first novel in 2012 and has been a full-time writer ever since.

Jane Hultgren is a teacher, playwright and freelance writer. She has written for Queensland Tourism, Mamamia, Kidspot, The Latch, and QWC’s WQ. Jane’s one act play Do I? was published by Maverick Musicals in 2015 and has earnt her a whopping $127 in royalties. Through her writing, she explores issues pertinent to women in society today, including violence against women, relationship and sex education in Australian schools, demands of modern motherhood and, of course, Bluey.

2023 Bram Stoker Award® nominee L. E. Daniels is an American author, poet, and editor living in Australia. Her novel, Serpent’s Wake (IP) is a Notable Work with HWA’s Mental Health Initiative. Lauren co-edited Aiki Flinthart’s Relics, Wrecks and Ruins with Geneve Flynn (2021 Aurealis Award winner) and We Are Providence (Weird House, 2022 Aurealis finalist) with Christa Carmen. She has served as a judge for IP, Hawkeye Books, Society of Women Writers and HWA.

Laurie Steed’s debut novel You Belong Here (2018) shortlisted in the WA Premier’s Book Awards and Love, Dad: Confessions of an Anxious Father was published in 2023. Greater City Shadows won the 2021 Henry Handel Richardson Flagship Fellowship for Short Story Writing, shortlisted for the 2022 Dorothy Hewett Award, and was published in 2024. Laurie is also a mentor, manuscript assessor, competition judge, and Partnerships and Development Manager for Writing WA.

Lori-Jay Ellis is a creative executive leader with a diverse and eclectic background in global marketing. She embodies creativity and innovation, and has a passion for building strong and connected communities. She has produced and directed funded short films and has a genuine love for the written word and for all things indie. She has been CEO of a community arts studio, marketing director at a large multinational, and managed a New York art gallery. 

Madeleine Dale grew up on Tamborine Mountain and lives in Brisbane. She holds First-class Honours and a Masters in Creative Writing from UQ, where she is completing a PhD. Her collection Portraits of Drowning won the 2023 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize and is published with UQP. Her work has appeared in Meanjin, Westerly, Cordite, Australian Poetry Anthology and Best of Australian Poetry.

Michael Burge is a journalist and author. His debut novel Tank Water is a coming-of-age crime thriller set in the bush, a story cycle that continues in an upcoming sequel (both from MidnightSun Publishing). In September 2025 his historical gothic western The Watchnight, set on Australia’s colonial frontier, will be released globally by US publisher Histria Books. Michael has written for The Guardian, Fairfax Media and the Journal of Australian Studies. He is a board member of BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival.

Nike Sulway is a writer, editor, and scholar of the fantastic. Her novels include Rupetta (the first Australian work to win the Otherwise Award), Dying in the First Person, Winter’s Tale, The True Green of Hope, The Bone Flute, and What The Sky Knows. Her works have won or shortlisted for awards including the QLD Premier’s Literary Award, Commonwealth Writers Award, CBCA Book of the Year Awards, IAFA Crawford Award, Aurealis Awards and Norma K Hemming Award.

Pamela Jeffs is a speculative fiction author with 90+ published works of short fiction, including the Aurealis Award noted collection The Terralight Collection. She was QWC’s 2021 Flinthart Resident and has featured in publications including Midnight Echo (AHWA) and the SNAFU military horror series. Pamela won the 2023 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story and previously shortlisted for an additional 11 Aurealis Awards, three Ditmar Awards and two Australasian Shadow Awards.

Peter Papathanasiou is the author of six books published and translated internationally, including the memoir Little One (Allen & Unwin, 2019) and a series of crime novels featuring Detective Sergeant George Manolis. The Times (UK) named Peter’s fiction novel The Stoning (2021) “the crime debut of the year”. Peter has also published in media outlets such as The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The New York Times.

Phil Brown is editor of InReview QLD, an independent arts outlet, and the author of two books of poetry – Plastic Parables (Metro Community Press 1991) and An Accident in the Evening (IP 2001). His most recent book is The Kowloon Kid: A Hong Kong Childhood (Transit Lounge 2019). He has been covering the arts in the mainstream media for nearly four decades and was Arts Editor for The Courier-Mail in Brisbane.

Pierce Wilcox writes weird fiction, tiny role-playing games, and opera libretti. His work has been published in Cordite Poetry Review, Overland and Jacaranda, and his writing for the stage has been performed at the Biennale of Sydney, the Melbourne Festival, and the National Gallery of Australia. He is an associate researcher with the WhatIF Lab at UQ.

Samuel Bernard is a freelance writer, critic, and editor, who joined Zeitgeist Agency as a literary agent in 2023. He writes for The Weekend Australian’s Notable Books column, Good Reading Magazine, and has appeared in ABR and Backstory Journal. He has also been an editor for Verge Literary Journal (Monash University Publishing).

Sandra has a background as a freelance writer and has worked in film and TV production as a writer/producer. She was a writing consultant for the Regional Arts Development Fund and holds a Master of Arts in children’s and youth writing. Sandra is a recipient of an ASA Edel Wignell Mentorship and a Varuna Residential Fellowship. She is editor of WQ, and Publications & Grants Manager at QWC.

Stacey McEwan is a romantic fantasy author based on the Gold Coast. Her debut series – The Glacian Trilogy – was an instant bestseller and has since been translated into four languages. Stacey is a former primary school teacher, a mother to two children, and is also known for her social media antics.

Tansy Rayner Roberts, also writing as Livia Day, is an award-winning author, critic and podcaster. Her work spans the breadth of fantasy, crime and science fiction. In recent years, Tansy has pivoted to indie publishing with a particular focus on crowdfunding and community engagement.

Trent Jamieson is the award-winning author of the novels The Stone Road and Day Boy, as well as the Death Works trilogy, and Roil duology. His children’s book The Giant and the Sea (ill. Rovina Cai) won the 2021 Environment Award for Children’s Literature Picture Fiction. His latest book is Mr Impoppable (ill. Brent Wilson). He is currently writing a novel with a Creative Australia grant.