Joanna Gardiner is Head of English at Somerville House, South Brisbane. She has co-authored several textbooks, including the series English is: English for the Australian Curriculum, published by Jacaranda Wiley and Shakespeare Unplugged: Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet for Cengage. In addition to presenting at local and national education conferences, she has taught English Extension, is a member of the District Review Panel for English, and has a passion for teaching Shakespeare, dystopian literature, Modernist poetry and literary theory.

Katie began teaching in 2008 and has worked in EQ and Catholic school contexts. In 2014, she received ETAQ’s Peter Botsman Award for excellence in English education. She has shared her love of English teaching at state and national conferences, but feels most at home in the classroom – amongst the creative energy of students with a blank page and pen.