Ben Hobson lives in Brisbane and is entirely keen on his wife, Lena, and their two small boys, Charlie and Henry. He currently teaches English and Music at Bribie Island State High School. In 2014 his novella, If the Saddle Breaks My Spine, was shortlisted for the Viva La Novella prize, run by Seizureonline. To Become a Whale is his first novel. 

Ashley Hay’s work has been praised for its “intelligent scrutiny of the human psyche”,  “a tenderness that is deeply compelling” and its “simple grace”. Her latest novel, A Hundred Small Lessons, was published to critical and popular acclaim earlier this year. Her previous book, The Railwayman’s Wife, received the Colin Roderick Award from the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies, and was voted People’s Choice in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. It was shortlisted for the NSWPLA’s Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and long-listed for the Kibble and Miles Franklin awards. It was also published in the US, the UK, and in translation.  An essayist, journalist and reviewer, Ashley’s words have appeared in Griffith Review, The Monthly, Best Australian Essays, Best Australian Short Stories and Best Australian Science Writing, the 2014 anthology of which she also edited. In 2016 she was awarded the Bragg/UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing for a version of her Dahl Trust/Australian Book Review essay “The Forest At the Edge of Time”.  She lives in Brisbane.

Craig turns on the microphone every morning at 5am as host of ABC Radio Brisbane’s Breakfast program.  He’s passionate about radio and the joy that comes with uncovering incredible stories of characters and the places they call home. He also moonlights as a TV weather presenter.

Venero (Veny) Armanno the author of two short story collections, Jumping at the Moon and Travel Under Any Star, and nine critically acclaimed novels. These include Black Mountain, The Dirty Beat, Romeo of the Underworld and Candle Life. His novel Firehead was shortlisted in the 1999 Queensland Premier’s Literary Award; in 2002 The Volcano won the award with Best Fiction Book of the year. His works have been published in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Israel and South Korea. Veny is a trained screenwriter and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Queensland.