Louise Adler is the CEO & Publisher of Melbourne University Publishing. She is a member of the Board of Management of the University of Melbourne’s literary journal, Meanjin. Alison Aprhys combines her surfing passion with professional writing and photography. Her first book was Careers in Publishing and Bookselling – How to Get the Job You Want. Sarah Armstrong is a former ABC journalist and Walkley Award winner. Her first novel Salt Rain has been shortlisted for both the Dobbie and Miles Franklin Awards this year. Stephen Axelsen has been illustrating books for children since 1974, mostly humorously, and is currently writing the Piccolo and Annabelle series for younger readers. Julia Baird is a weekly columnist and opinion editor at the Sydney Morning Herald. Her first book is Media Tarts. Candida Baker was editor of the Weekend Australian Magazine. Her latest novel is The Hidden. Roz Baker is a self-published author and public speaker. Using her speaking skills for marketing, Roz sold $20,000 worth of novels in 20 weeks.   Bob Beale is a Sydney non-fiction writer and journalist specialising in science, environment and medicine. He is the author of Going Native (with Mike Archer). Peter Beattie has been Queensland Premier since 1998. His autobiography is Making A Difference: Life, Leadership and Politics. Gay Bilson was a restauranteur and cook for 25 years in Sydney. She has been writing about food and the culture of food for many years. Plenty: Digressions on Food is her first book, and winner of the 2005 Kibble Literary Award for Women Writers.   John Birmingham has written high-brow history, low-brow grunge and no brow sports columns and features. He has recently been converted to the joys of action thriller airport novels (Weapons of Choice). Peter Bishop has been Executive Director of Varuna – The Writers’ House in Katoomba since 1993. Jesse Blackadder’s first novel After the Party will be launched at the Festival. Bruno Bouchet’s passion is comedy – in his own writing and in encouraging others to entertain themselves through writing. He has published 3 novels and a children’s book. Nike Bourke is the author of the children’s picture book, What the Sky Knows. Her new novel The True Green of Hope will be launched at the Festival.   Susan Bradley-Smith lectures in Writing at Southern Cross University. Widely published as a theatre historian, playwright and poet. She is currently researching in the area of creative writing and therapy.   Hazel Brown is the senior elder of a large, extended Noongar family. She was a member of the first Metropolitan Commission of Elders and is a registered native title claimant. Julian Burnside is a barrister who is passionately involved in the arts. He is chair of Fortyfive Downstairs, chair of Chunky Move and deputy chair of Musica Viva Australia. He is the author of Wordwatching: Field Notes from an Amateur Philologist.   Larry Buttrose’s most recent novel was Sweet Sentence (2001), while his latest publication is the non-fiction work From Einstein to Eminem (2005). Liu Can-ming is Dean of the Arts Dept at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is regarded in China as an outstanding calligrapher whose work draws on rich Chinese artistic tradition. Isobelle Carmody is at the forefront of fantasy writing in Australia and is author of the highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles series. Her latest book, Little Fur, will be launched at the Festival.   Brian Caswell is the multi-awardwinning author of 24 books and numerous short stories. Brian also writes for the screen. Lucy Clark has been a journalist who has worked in Sydney, London, and New York and is currently literary editor of the Sydney Sunday Telegraph and the Adelaide Sunday Mail.   Professor Paul Clark is Vice- Chancellor of Southern Cross University, a physicist by discipline, an Englishman by birth and an Australian by choice. John Clarke is an advisor to the Australian government. His work is tireless, involves logic and other dangerous chemicals. He is a personal friend of the Prime Minister and went to school with the new Pope. Alan Close has written widely on men and relationships. His new book A Bachelor's   Matt Condon’s published fiction includes The Pillow Fight and Lime Bar and his novel The Trout Opera will be relesed next year. He is a regular contributor to Griffith Review and writes for The Courier-Mail in Brisbane.   Deborah Conway’s contributions as a writer, recording artist and performer have inspired and enthralled audiences for more than 20 years. Deborah Cox is a writer/producer whose work includes The Ministeries, Simone de Beauvoir’s Babies, Sea Change and the AWGIE winning script for Dead Letter Office.   Janet de Neefe lives in Bali and runs the legendary Casa Luna cooking school. Her first book, Fragrant Rice, is a tale of passion, marriage and food.   Mary Delahunty, Victorian Minister for the Arts and Women’s Affairs. Previously she was an award-winning journalist and presenter of the 7:30 Report and Four Corners and host of Sunday Afternoon. Fiona Doyle Oochunyung is originally from the Western Cape region. She is author of the Whispers of This Wik Woman. Robert Drewe’s novels and short stories have been translated, won prizes, and been adapted for stage and screen. His novel Grace will be launched at the Festival. Irina Dunn is Executive Director of the NSW Writers’ Centre. She is author of The Writers’ Guide: a Companion to Writing for Pleasure or Publication.   Don Edgar, sociologist, was foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. He is a prolific social policy writer and author of seven books, the most recent being The War over Work. Russell Eldridge is editor of the Northern Star Newspaper. He is a published writer and a committee member for the Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre. Delia Falconer has written essays, short stories and the award winning novel The Service of Clouds. Her latest novel, The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers, was released this year.   The Family History Group are a lively group of writers interested in memoir, biography, fiction, poetry and family histories. Remembering Mothers is their first book.   Peter FitzSimons has written 16 books and was Australia's best-selling non-fiction author in both 2001 and 2004 with his books on John Eales, Nancy Wake and Kokoda. Akkadia Ford holds Masters’ Degrees in Egyptology and Sculpture. Published in Egypt and the UK, Egyptian Animals, her third book, is being launched at the Festival. Nancy Fraser, Professor of Philosophy and Politics at the New School in New York, is regarded as one of today's most important feminist critics and moral philosophers.   Sandy Gandhi is Australia’s most easterly Indian. A foreign gossipondent extraordinaire, if it hasn’t happened she will make it up!   Julie Gibbs is executive publisher for The Penguin Group Australia. Kate Grenville has written seven novels and several best-selling howto- write books. Her work has won prizes, been published internationally, translated and filmed. Her new novel is The Secret River.   Michael Gurr’s plays include Julia 3, The Simple Truth, Jerusalem, and Sex Diary of an Infidel. He is the winner of four State Literary Awards for Drama. Anna Haebich is a multi-award winning historian. She is working on a cultural history of assimilation that draws on history, anthropology, the visual arts and her experiences of migrant and Aboriginal family life. Clive Hamilton is author of the best - selling Growth Fetish and Executive Director of the Australian Institute. His new book is Affluenza. Wendy Harmer is one of Australia's best-known humourists. Wendy is also the author of three books for adults, two plays, and a highly successful series of children's books. Her latest book is Farewell My Ovaries. Sonya Hartnett is author of the highly acclaimed Of a Boy, Thursday’s Child, Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf and Sleeping Dogs. Her most recent novel is Surrender. Susan Hayes is Chair of the Australian Society of Authors and a Board Member of Copyright Agency Ltd. Previously she was State Literature Officer for Western Australia.   Cathy Henkel is an award winning screenwriter, producer and director who somehow entered the Spike Milligan zone and will never be the same again. Simon Higgins Ex-policeman, private detective and prosecutor, Simon’s SF adventure and crime thrillers have been awarded and published internationally.   Rob Hirst was a founding member of Midnight Oil and the author of Willie’s Bar and Grill. He is currently performing in Hirst & Greene and The Backsliders.   Paul Jarman is a member of Sirocco whose music reflects the spirit of modern Australia. Their instruments range from Middle Eastern flutes to Irish drums to modern synthesisers. Kate Jennings is the author of the award winning Moral Hazard and Snake. A New Yorker since 1979, she has written a number of books of essays, poetry, and short stories. Tom Keneally is a veteran awardwinning writer whose work includes The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, A Family Madness and Woman of the Inner Sea. His last book is A Tyrant’s Novel. Malcolm Knox is the author of two novels, Summerland and A Private Man. He is literary editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.   Rachael Kohn is the producer and presenter of The Spirit of Things and The Ark on ABC Radio National and is the author of The New Believers: Re-imagining God. Ramona Koval presents and produces Books and Writing and co-presents Australia Talks Books. Her new book is Tasting Life Twice: Conversations with Remarkable Writers. Debbie Kruger During the 1990s hosted Debbie Does Breakfast on Bay FM. Now working in the music industry, Songwriters Speak is her first book.

Margo Lanagan is an award-winning writer of novels, short stories and poetry. She is also an editor. Her most recent collection of short stories is Black Juice. Alison Lester is one of the most popular writers and illustrators of children’s books in Australia. Her career spans over 21 years. Her latest book is Are We There Yet? Frané Lessac is an author and artist living in Western Australia. Frané has over 28 award winning children’s books published throughout the world. Elaine Lewis established the Australian Bookshop in Paris to promote Australian writers. Her memoir will be published this year. Melissa Lucashenko is an awardwinning Indigenous novelist who writes on race, class and gender in modern Australia.   Mungo MacCallum has worked as a political commentator, writer and broadcaster since 1965. He currently writes for the Byron Shire Echo. His latest publications are Australian Political Anecdotes and Run Johnny Run: the story of the 2004 election. Sandy McCutcheonis one of Australia’s favourite broadcasters and a highly respected writer of political thrillers. His memoir is The Magician’s Son.   William McInnes is one of Australia's most popular stage and screen actors. He has had leading roles in Sea Change and Shark Net. His latest role is in Look Both Ways which is showing at the Festival. A Man's Got To Have A Hobby is his newly released memoir. Emily Maguire is a Sydney writer and teacher. Her first novel is Taming the Beast. Shane Maloney is the award-winning author of the Murray Whelan comic thrillers, of which Stiff and The Brush-Off were recently adapted for television. He recently released The Happy Phrase (with Guy Rundle). John Mateer is a poet and art critic. His most recent books are the travelogue Semar’s Cave: An Indonesian Journal, and the poetry collection The Ancient Capital of Images. Susan Melhuish is a teacher, actor and director. She is Director of Byron Bay’s Fourth Wall Theatre.   Bill Metcalf is the author of nine books including From Utopian Dreaming to Communal Reality, Herrnhut: Australia’s First Utopian Commune, and The Findhorn Book of Community Living. Laura Milligan, oldest daughter of Spike Milligan, is a writer and animator. She worked closely with Spike and sketched a number of cartoons in his books. Dr Gabrielle Morrissey has been a sexologist – sexuality educator, sex consultant and sex researcher – since 1990. Her second sex book is Urge: Hot Secrets for Great Sex. Stephen Muecke is a writer and research professor in Cultural Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has written on Indigenous Australia and more recently on the Indian Ocean. Sally Neighbour is a Walkley Award-winning journalist for the ABC’s flagship current affairs program, Four Corners. Sally’s first book, In the Shadow of Swords, explores issues of terrorism in the modern world. Graham Nunn is the current Director of the Queensland Poetry Festival and organiser of Brisbane’s spoken word event, SpeedPoets. He also edits and produces the monthly SpeedPoets magazine.   Mick O’Regan is the presenter of the Sports Report on ABC Radio National. He previously presented ABC radio’s Media Report.   Professor Robert Pope is the founder and director of the Science-Art Research Centre of Australia. He is a philosopher and a professional Science-Art artist. Nic Pullen is a partner with Holding Redlich, specialising in media law and intellectual property. He is a regular commentator on issues affecting publishers and writers. Leigh Redhead is the author of Peepshow, a crime novel starring Simone Kirsch, the stripping private eye. Rubdown, the second in the series, will be published in September. Graham Reilly was born in Glasgow. He now lives in Melbourne where he works for The Age. He is the author of three novels, the latest being Five Oranges.   Matthew Reilly is the international best-selling author of six novels including Ice Station. His latest novella has been written specifically for the Australian Government's "Books Alive"initiative.   Ian Robertson heads the Sydney media and entertainment practice of law firm Holding Redlich. He is also chairman of Ausfilm and a former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Authority. More importantly, he is Di Morrissey’s lawyer.   Dr Robyn Rowland AO has written seven books. Published internationally, she has frequently lived & worked in Ireland. In 2002 she won the Catalpa Poetry and Writers Prize.   Guy Rundle is a master of political satire. Running through some of the nation’s largest egos, Rundle lampoons and lampasts politicians,‘thinkers’ and other participants in a Great Cultural debate about the state of Australia. Max Ryan is a poet who works with sound. His CD White Cow, a collaboration with musician Cleis Pearce has won several awards. Rainswayed Night, his book of free verse, will be launched at the Festival. John Safran. Some people say he’s Australia’s most exciting guerrilla filmmaker! His work includes the award winning John Safran’s Music Jamboree and John Safran vs God. Mandy Sayer is an award-winning novelist who has also written two memoirs: Dreamtime Alice (which won the National Biography Award) and its prequel, Velocity.   Julianne Schultz is the editor of Griffith Review and a professor in the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas at Griffith University. She is the author of books including Going into Shadows.   Kim Scott has published two novels and a children’s book. His second novel was the award winning Benang. His latest book, written with his elder Hazel Brown, is Kayang and Me.   Shahin Shafaei, born in Tehran, Iran, wrote his first play at the age of 18. Before 1997 he wrote 13 plays, most of which were banned by the Islamic Government and caused him to escape his country and seek asylum in Australia. Refugitive is his first play in English. Margaret Simons is a freelance journalist and author. Her recent work includes an essay on Mark Latham, a book on the history of compost, and an examination of “secret women’s business” and the Hindmarsh Island affair.   Sirocco. From performing to an estimated audience of 200,000 on Australia Day 1999 to a dance with the Dayaks in a jungle clearing in central Borneo, there is no band in the world with the experience of Sirocco. Ian Small is a roaming writer who employs non-traditional marketing strategies to distribute his award-winning novel, The Kurrajongs. He is currently researching four new works. Margaret Somerville is a writer and academic at the University of New England with a passionate interest in place writing and experimental writing forms.   Andrew Stafford is the author of Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden (UQP), a social history of Brisbane’s music scene pre and post Fitzgerald Inquiry.   Jane Sullivan is a senior writer with the Melbourne Age who specialises in literary journalism. Her novel The White Star was published in 2000. Anne Summers is a best-selling author and journalist with a long career in politics and the media. She is author of several books, including the now classic, Damned Whores and God’s Police. Her most recent book is The End of Equality.   Kerry Sunderland has worked as a professional writer, freelance journalist and producer. Kerry produced the web site for the multi-platform documentary about Spike Milligan www.spikemilliganlegacy.com Deborah Thomas is the award winning Editorial Director of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Previously she has been editor of magazines such as Mode, Elle and Cleo.   Peter Thompson is best known as the film reviewer on Channel Nine’s weekly program Sunday. He is also a presenter on Showtime Greats. Ian Townsend is a journalist with ABC Radio’s national current affairs programs. Affection is his first novel.   Christos Tsiolkas is a playwright and the acclaimed author of Loaded. His novel Dead Europe was released this year. Margaret Somerville is a writer and academic at the University of New England with a passionate interest in place writing and experimental writing forms.   Maria Tumarkin is a writer born in the former USSR. Her first book Traumascapes looks at the fate and power of places across the world marked by histories of violence and loss. Gerry Turcotte is a poet, photographer, novelist and critic. He is the writer of a novel, poetry and most recently of a collection of prose, poetry and photographs Border Crossings. Alana Valentine won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Best Drama (Stage) 2004 for Run Rabbit Run. Her new verbatim-based work is Parramatta Girls for Company B. James Valentine is the author of the JumpMan series. He is published here and in the USA, UK and Netherlands. He is a broadcaster on 702ABC Sydney.   Richard Vinycomb VCA Drama graduate and founder of Far Out East Productions. He has acted, directed, toured and group-devised many acclaimed theatre productions Sarah Watt is an internationally acclaimed and award winning writer and animator who has just completed her first feature film, Look Both Ways, out in August 2005 and shown at the Festival.   Fiona Wyllie asks questions daily on ABC North Coast from 9am-11am. She says her region attracts the most fascinating interviewees, so she gets paid for doing something she loves.   George Whaley was Head of Acting at NIDA and Head of Directing at AFTRS and is currently teaching acting and directing at NRCAC in Lismore. He is also completing a commissioned biography of actor, Leo McKern.   Putu Wijaya is a Balinese, who lives and works in Jakarta as a journalist, a playwright, a novelist, a short story writer, an essayist and a film/theatre director. His works have been translated and performed all over the world. Gerard Windsor has published eight books of fiction, memoir and essays. His latest is the novel I Have Kissed Your Lips. Alana Woods’ first novel Automaton, won the 2003 Fast Books Prize for Best Fiction.   Eli Zaretsky is Professor of History at the New School in New York, and recently published Secrets of the Soul, a history of pscyhoanalysis.   Willy Zygier is a composer whose work is rich, rhythmic & distinctive. His musical career encompasses roles as a composer, arranger, producer, programmer & musician.