Jesse Ball is a novelist born in New York. His many and varied works of absurdity are beloved in a dozen languages. He is the recipient of fellowships from the NEA, Heinz, and Guggenheim Foundations among others. Jesse was recently named a Granta Best of Young American Novelist.

Susan Johnson was shortlisted for the 1991 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for her novel Flying Lessons (Heinemann 1990), shortlisted for the 1994 National Book Council’s Banjo Award for the novel A Big Life (Pan Macmillan 1993) and shortlisted for the National Biography Award 2000 for her memoir A Better Woman (Random House 1999). Her other books include Hungry Ghosts (Pan Macmillan 1996), Messages from Chaos (Harper and Row 1987), Womenlovesex (Random House, 1997 editor and contributor). The Broken Book was shortlisted for the 2005 Nita B Kibble Award; the Best Fiction Book section of the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award; the Westfield/Waverley Library Literary Award, and the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal Award for an Outstanding Australian Literary Work. She works as a journalist at Qweekend magazine.

Mireille Juchau’s most recent novel, The World Without Us, was published by Bloomsbury in Australia, UK and the US. It won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and was shortlisted for several awards. Her second novel, Burning In, was published in Australia and Europe and her debut, Machines for Feeling was recently reprinted. Mireille is also known for her essays, critical writing and reviews. She is currently writer in residence at Sydney University’s Charles Perkins Research Centre.

Kate Mildenhall is the author of Skylarking (Black Inc., 2016). She is a writer and teacher who has taught in schools, RMIT University, State Library Victoria, and with Teachers Across Borders in Cambodia. Skylarking is her debut novel, based on the true story of Kate and Harriet, best friends growing up on a remote Australian cape in the 1880s, and the tragic event that befalls them.  Skylarking was named in Readings bookstore’s Top Ten Fiction Books of 2016 and longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017.  Kate lives in Hurstbridge, Victoria, and is currently working on a new novel.