Dominic McGann is Chair of the Brisbane Writers Festival and Chairman of Partners at McCullough Robertston, the largest independent law firm in Queensland. In a distinguished career spanning 30 years he has held a range of senior government roles, and won QUT’s Outstanding Alumni Award for the Law Faculty in 2015. Dominic is a mining and resources expert and last year was named as a preeminent lawyer in the area of Native Title in the Doyle’s Guide.

Gregory O’Brien is a Wellington-based writer and painter whose recent collection of poems, Whale Years, traces his recent travels in the Pacific region. As well as writing poetry, essays and non-fiction books, O’Brien was curator at City Gallery Wellington between 1997 and 2009. During this time he wrote or co-wrote books about artists including Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere, Fiona Hall, Rosalie Gascoigne and Noel McKenna. In 2012 O’Brien was awarded a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement. 

Ellen van Neerven is an award-winning writer of Mununjali and Dutch heritage. Her first book, Heat and Light (UQP, 2014), was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award, and the NSW Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing. It was also shortlisted for The Stella Prize and the Readings Prize. Comfort Food is her first collection of poetry.

Shane Rhodes is the author of five books of poetry including his most recent X (which created poetry from Canada’s post-confederation treaties), and Err (a finalist for the City of Ottawa Book Award). His poetry has won an Alberta Book Award, two Lampman-Scott Awards, the P. K. Page Founder’s Award for Poetry and a National Magazine Gold Award. Shane is the poetry editor for Arc, Canada’s national poetry magazine, and is the 2013 Queensland Poet-in-Residence.