A Great Escape

Meg Caddy is a YA author from Perth, Western Australia. In 2013 her debut novel Waer was shortlisted for the Text Prize, which led to a contract with Text Publishing. Published in 2016, Waer has now been shortlisted for the 2017 CBCA Children's Book of the Year award in the Older Readers category. Meg has been working with children of all ages for the last seven years. She is obsessed with pirates, werewolves, and her overweight cat.

Maria Lewis in the author of the Who's Afraid? series, which is published worldwide and currently being adapted for television by Hoodlum Entertainment. Previously seen on nightly news program The Feed on SBS, her work as a journalist has also appeared in the New York Post, Empire Magazine, Penthouse, The Daily Mail and many more. She's the host and producer of the Eff Yeah Film & Feminism podcast.

A full-time writer since 2001, Garth Nix previously worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s books include the award-winning young adult fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen; the dystopian novel Shade’s Children; the space opera A Confusion of Princes; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt’s Emerald. More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian and The Australian, and his work has been translated into 40 languages. He lives in a Sydney beach suburb with his wife and two children.

Claire Christian is a storyteller; a writer, blogger, pod-caster (Ask Pew! Pew!), youth arts facilitator and theatre maker. Her debut novel Beautiful Mess won the 2016 Text Publishing Text Prize. Her plays Talking to Brick Walls, Hedonisms Second Album and The Landmine is Me (with David Burton) are available through Playlab. Claire has travelled to far off distant lands and won awards with fancy words in the title like, '100 leading women.' You can follow her adventures at www.claireandpearl.com.