Speakers 2025
Christian White
Christian White is a Melbourne-based screenwriter, producer and author.
As an author, Christian’s debut novel The Nowhere Child (Affirm Press) was the fastest selling debut novel by an Australian writer, selling to more than 20 territories.
In addition to writing the novels The Ledge (out October 2024), The Wife and the Widow and Wild Place, all published by Affirm Press, Christian has also released three novellas through Audible Originals.
Christian also has a number of film and television projects in development, including a major US series and a thriller feature with 20th Century Studios.
Christian co-wrote – alongside his frequent collaborator Natalie Erika James – Paramount Pictures’ psychological thriller feature Apartment 7A, starring Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest. In television, he co-created and co-produced the hit Netflix series Clickbait which was the most-watched streaming show globally in September 2021.
Christian’s other television credits include: the Amazon crime comedy series Deadloch; and an adaptation of Jane Harper’s The Survivors with his Clickbait co-creator Tony Ayres. Christian’s first feature – with Natalie Erika James – Relic premiered at Sundance, SXSW, and earned an IndieWire Critics nomination for Best Feature Film.
Stephanie Trethewey
Stephanie Trethewey is the 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania. She’s a visionary leader who has transformed personal challenges into a nationwide movement to support rural mothers across Australia. Stephanie’s transition from life in the city and a successful career in television journalism, to embracing farm life and rural motherhood in Tasmania, has been both a brutal and beautiful journey.
Her struggles with postnatal depression and isolation inspired the creation of Motherland, a national charity that fervently advocates for the mental health and well-being of rural mothers, and celebrates and connects them through platforms like the Motherland podcast and Motherland Village program.
The Motherland podcast has been downloaded more than one million times, and Motherland Village, Australia’s first online rural mother’s group program, has connected over 300 rural women to their own personalised support group. Motherland is on a mission to reduce isolation, improve mental health outcomes, and ensure no rural mum is left behind.
Stephanie sits on the Australian Advisory Council of Thankful4Farmers. In 2022, she was named the national winner of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award. In 2023, Steph celebrated the release of her debut book, Motherland.
Holly Ringland
Holly Ringland is the author of two internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning novels, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, one nationally bestselling work of non-fiction, The House that Joy Built, and she writes a regular Substack, The Joy Rise, on the intersection of creativity and connection. Her books have sold over 500,000 copies and have been published in over 30 international territories. In 2021, Holly made her TV debut co-hosting the ABC TV factual series Back to Nature which aired in prime time and to critical acclaim. In 2023, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart was adapted for an award-winning seven-part series starring Sigourney Weaver.
Gordon Bray
Gordon Bray was renowned throughout Australia for more than four decades as the ‘Voice of Rugby’. He is one of our longest serving sports commentators having started with ABC Sport in 1969 as a specialist trainee. His name is still synonymous with televised rugby union and his distinctive commentary style remains as much a part of the Australian game as a George Gregan tackle or a David Campese goose-step.
A talented schoolboy scrum-half, Bray spent three seasons in the first XV at Homebush Boys’ High, captaining the side to a premiership in his final year and represented Combined High Schools before joining Eastern Suburbs DRUFC. Later, as an accomplished referee, he was appointed to 199 games by the NSW Rugby Referees Association. Gordon called his first rugby test match on radio for the ABC in Bordeaux in 1976 and is still adamant Australia was robbed of a famous victory over France that day by a tardy Scottish referee who found himself ‘a mile behind the play’. Since then Bray has called more than 400 test matches. In 1980 he succeeded the legendary Norman May as the ABC’s rugby union commentator on television and called every milestone victory by the Wallabies over the next 40 years, including the 1984 Grand Slam and both Rugby World Cup triumphs. He was also at Brighton, England behind the ITV microphone in 2015 when minnow Japan downed two-time World Cup champions South Africa in one of the biggest boilovers in sporting history.
After 25 years with ABC Sport he moved to commercial television and spent 16 years at the Seven Network and 10 years at Ten. Renowned for his versatility, Gordon covered 12 Summer and Winter Olympics after making his Commonwealth Games debut at Christchurch in 1974. Bray is the author and editor of seven books on Rugby Union including best sellers From The Ruck and The Australian Rugby Companion. His latest book The immortals of Australian Rugby Union has gone to a second print run. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005, is a past recipient of the prestigious Penguin Award for best TV sports presenter, a member of the SCG Media Hall of Honour and is an ambassador for Legacy Australia. Prolific author and newspaper columnist Peter FitzSimons has described Bray as ‘more than a sporting icon, Gordon is no less than the soundtrack of our sporting lives.
Li Cunxin
Li Cunxin AO’s journey is simply remarkable. He was born into utter poverty in Mao’s Communist China, at a very young age he was selected to train at Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy. So began Li’s journey. The 7 years of harsh training regime at the Beijing Dance Academy taught him discipline, resilience, determination and perseverance. Li’s astounding drive and relentless work made him one of the best dancers in the world.
Li then made a successful career transition from ballet into finance. He was a senior manager at one of the largest stockbroking firms in Australia. He was named 2009 Australian Father of the Year. Li was Queensland Australian of the Year in 2014 and received the Asia Society’s Game Changer Award in 2015. He was awarded the Queen’s AO Honour for his distinguished service and contribution to Arts and Ballet.
Li was at the helm of Queensland Ballet for 12 years, which he has transformed from a small regional ballet company into a world class organisation. The inspirational story of Li’s life is recounted in his memoir Mao’s Last Dancer, which quickly rose to number one on the Australian bestseller list and won the Book of the Year Award in Australia and received the Christopher Award for literature in the USA. It went on to become an international bestseller. It’s in the 60th reprint. Mao’s Last Dancer is also a blockbuster film. Li’s story is a living example of overcome adversity and achieve excellence in life.
Matthew Condon
Matthew Condon is an award-winning journalist and the author of more than 18 works of both fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling true crime trilogy – Three Crooked Kings, Jacks and Jokers and All Fall Down. His other books include The Trout Opera and The Motorcycle Café. In 2019 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the community. He is a senior writer and podcaster for The Australian.
Hayley Scrivenor
Hayley Scrivenor is the author of Girl Falling and Dirt Town.
Girl Falling was published in Australia in August 2024 and described as “a remarkable exercise in complex storytelling written in Scrivenor’s idiosyncratic, metaphorically vivid prose” and a “worthy follow-up to the best-selling Dirt Town.”
Dirt Town was published internationally in 2022 (as Dirt Creek in the U.S., where it was a USA TODAY bestseller) and quickly became a #1 Australian bestseller. The novel has been shortlisted for multiple national and international awards and translated into several languages.
In 2023, Dirt Town won the ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Mystery and the ABIA for General Fiction Book of the Year. Hayley has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wollongong and lives on Dharawal country.
Vicki Bennett
Vicki is an author of 35 books, she is also an artist, a writing coach and mentor. She has presented at many writer’s festivals, and supports the Queensland Writers Centre as a speaker and mentor for members, assisting them as they complete their books. She has written and co-produced a documentary, Never Forget Australia.
Her books cover many genres: personal development, children’s, young adult, and adult fiction. Her books include a YA novel, Oliver’s First Big Spy Adventure, and five ANZAC children’s books, Two Pennies, The Little Stowaway, The Flying Angel, The Promise and Charlie’s War.
Vicki writes authentic stories of hope, courage, resilience and perseverance which are a valuable resource for children and teenagers.
Nikki Mottram
Nikki Mottram is the best-selling author of Crows Nest (UQP, 2023) and Killarney (UQP, 2024). She has a psychology degree from The University of Queensland and has worked in London and Australia protecting and promoting the welfare of children at risk of harm. She uses her background in child protection in her crime fiction.
She has been shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize and the Hal Porter Short Story Competition and was a recipient of the Katharine Susannah Pritchard Writer’s Centre Fellowship. She grew up and resides in Toowoomba and brings to her work an understanding of rural communities.
Maya Linnell
Bestselling fiction author Maya Linnell gathers inspiration from her rural upbringing and the small communities she has always lived in and loved. A former country journalist and radio host, Maya has written six novels: Wallaby Lane, Kookaburra Cottage, Paperbark Hill, Magpie’s Bend, Bottlebrush Creek and Wildflower Ridge.
A newly-minted Queenslander, she lives with her family in the Darling Downs, writes to the soundtrack of enthusiastic kookaburras, and relies on copious amounts of tea, chocolate and homemade biscuits to fuel her days at the keyboard. Find Maya online at Instagram and Facebook @maya.linnell.writes or join her newsletter community at mayalinnell.com
Georgia Harper
Georgia Harper is a psychologist who has worked with both serious violent offenders and victim-survivors of crime. Her career spans correctional, forensic mental health, mental health and rural psychology roles. She advises on LGBTIQ+ workforce matters and, in keeping with her passion for animal welfare, was the Senior Inspector Prosecutions for RSPCA Queensland. Born in Brisbane, Georgia currently lives and works in Coolum, where she enjoys writing in her paddock under the supervision of her shire horse. What I Would Do to You is her first novel.
Claudine Tinellis
Claudine Tinellis is a Sydney-based author, podcaster and presenter. A former corporate lawyer, Claudine ventured into the world of publishing in 2014 as the editor of Coastal Chef: Culinary Art of Seaweed & Algae in the 21st Century and in the years since has dedicated herself to writing fiction. Claudine is also the host and producer of ‘Talking Aussie Books’ – a popular podcast bringing readers and writers of Australian fiction together. With more than 200 different authors interviewed to date, ‘Talking Aussie Books’ has been ranked number one Australian reading and writing podcast (Feedspot).
Sarah Todman
Sarah grew up in an outback Queensland pub surrounded by siblings (she has seven), and an ever-changing cast of colourful pub characters. It was an extraordinary childhood that gave her a love of people and their stories, as well as the ability to pour a perfect beer.
She studied journalism at university, and in a writing career that now spans more than two decades she has been a tabloid journalist, magazine editor, communications consultant, content writer, and creative entrepreneur.
Along with her poetry (she has published one collection and regularly shares poems on Instagram), Sarah has written a contemporary fiction novel, New Year’s Eve (released with Hawkeye Books in 2024), and two children’s picture books (Bab’s Mermaid Adventure, Bab’s Camping Adventure). You can explore Sarah’s poetry and other writing on her Instagram or by visiting her website.
David Kelly
Born in Brisbane in September 1963, David Kelly is an acclaimed photographer with a career spanning over three decades. Beginning his journey at News Ltd in 1992 with Quest Newspapers, he quickly established himself as a feature and magazine photography specialist at Queensland Newspapers.
David was a founding photographer for Qweekend Magazine with The Courier-Mail, contributing from 2005 to 2017. His work has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Hurley Award for Press Photographer of the Year in 1995, multiple Walkley and Clarion Award wins, and several finalist positions in the National Portrait Awards and Olive Cotton Portrait Awards. In 2020, he won the Brisbane Portrait Prize’s Performing Arts and Music Award.
In addition to editorial and feature photography, David has devoted 23 years to capturing the artistry of the Queensland Ballet, documenting rehearsals, backstage moments, and season programs. His collaborations include producing Love Stories, a documentary on love and homelessness with Trent Dalton and Topology, showcased at the 2015 Queensland Music Festival and Darwin Festival. He co-authored Detours (Stories from the Street) with David Hinchcliffe and Trent Dalton (2011) and The Saltwater Story with Benjamin Allmon, shortlisted for the 2018 Queensland Literary Awards.
David’s other notable works include From the Wings, a photographic exploration of Queensland Ballet’s Swan Lake, and the Reserata exhibition, created in collaboration with Queensland Ballet’s Bespoke season at Brisbane Powerhouse (2018). During his 2020 Museum of Brisbane residency, he produced Jack and Grace: A Story from Boxes.
David’s evocative storytelling, whether through photo-essays, books, or exhibitions, has made him a celebrated figure in Australian photography.
Sarah Armstrong
Sarah has published three novels (Salt Rain, His Other House and Promise) and two novels for children (Big Magic and Magic Awry). Salt Rain was shortlisted for a number of awards including the Miles Franklin. Big Magic was a CBCA Notable Book. In a former life she was a journalist at ABC Radio where she won a Walkley Award.
Sarah is an experienced and highly regarded writing teacher, mentor and manuscript assessor. She teaches for Byron Writers Festival (including their 12-week Novel Intensive and annual Residential mentorship) and at Southern Cross University.
Kell Woods
Kell Woods is an Australian historical fantasy author. Her debut novel After the Forest – a re-telling of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ set in the seventeenth century – was a Sunday Times bestseller.
She has studied English literature, creative writing and history, and writes about made-up (and not so made-up) places, people and things you might remember from the fairy tales you read as a child – in a way that is most definitely not for children. Kell lives in Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast, land that has been a traditional meeting place for the Dharawal and Dhurga language groups.
Her second novel Upon A Starlit Tide will be available in February 2025.
Natalie Murray
Natalie Murray writes romance with all the feels and swoons. Her debut contemporary romance, Love, Just In, was published by Allen & Unwin in January 2024, and her next release, Lights, Camera, Love, will be published in August 2025, followed by another book in 2026. Natalie is also the author of the time travel romance series Emmie and the Tudor King, which is currently in development for television by Ambience Entertainment. She also co-writes contemporary romance with American author Jenny Fyfe, including their small-town romances Hating the Best Man and Loving the Worst Man.
Before becoming an author, Natalie was an entertainment reporter for Sky News, where she interviewed many high-profile celebrities such as Elton John, Angelina Jolie, Sylvester Stallone, Dustin Hoffman, Matt Damon, Keanu Reeves, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, and Jerry Seinfeld. Natalie grew up in Sydney, Australia, and is the daughter of cookbook author Eva Stovern and the late Australian football icon Les Murray. After a ten-year adventure living in Asia, she now lives in Lake Macquarie near Newcastle with her family and proudly writes on the land of the Awabakal people. You can find Natalie at nataliemurrayauthor.com.
Cristy Burne
Cristy Burne is an award-winning Australian author, STEM journalist, and speaker working on the intersection of story, science, technology and creativity. A trained scientist, Cristy has authored hundreds of popular science articles and published 15 books – including fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels.
Cristy has worked for twenty years and across five countries as a science communicator, including stints at CERN (home of the Large Hadron Collider), at Questacon (as part of a science circus), and at CSIRO (as editor of Scientriffic magazine).Cristy helps audiences of all ages to embrace creativity, develop a growth mindset and shoot for the stars.
Chris Collin
Chris Collin is an award-winning author and lives in the Sunshine Coast region of Queensland, Australia. His quirky rhyming books all have a unique feature – they are musical picture books; All Chris’ books come with a digital narrated version of the book to a beautiful orchestral backing score, plus a song for each book, all performed by the author. Chris says, ‘As an independent publisher, we have the scope to create a world-class musical package with every book, inclusive for everyone – even reluctant readers! By providing audio and audiovisual versions of the books and a song for every book, kids (and their adults) of all abilities can enjoy our beautiful rhyming stories and songs. What better way is there to get kids reading than combining story with music!’
Chris has produced 5 musical picture books, including the award-winning Funky Chicken series and A Bug Called Doug. His second book in the funky chicken series, the hilarious Funky Chicken Chooks in Space, was voted winner of the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year. All of his books appear in various Australian state Premier’s Reading Challenge book list and state curriculums.
Chris’ latest book, The Things you can do with Blue Whale Poo, was shortlisted in the 2021 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards. This very funny (and slightly stinky) story, celebrates a little-known fact; blue whale poop plays a crucial contribution to the health of our planet. Chris calls it ‘Poop with purpose!‘
Cross curricula lesson plans (V9 Australian curriculum) have been created for all of Chris’ books, complete with STEM activities, and are available online at www.funkybooks.com.au. Lesson plans have also been created to link with the EYLF for early years.
Chris performs over 100 events every year both in-person, and through Live Virtual Visits to literary festivals, libraries, schools, preschools and public events all over the globe. His role is to bring fun (and funkiness!) to the world, to encourage readers of all ages to ‘read for the joy of reading!‘
Charlotte Barkla
Charlotte Barkla is a Brisbane-based writer who worked as a civil engineer and physics teacher before rediscovering her love for children’s literature. She writes picture books and middle-grade fiction. Charlotte’s books include 11 Ruby Road, Let’s Try Again Another Day, All Bodies are Good Bodies, the Edie’s Experiments series and From My Head to My Toes, I Say What Goes. She has a further four children’s books due to be published over 2025-2026.
Charlotte’s books have been translated in multiple languages and short-listed for awards, including the
Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards and the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award for Children’s Literature. As well as writing for children, Charlotte has also written feature articles for publications including AEU News, Create Digital, Beanz Magazine and Double Helix. She regularly visits schools, libraries and festivals for creative writing workshops, sharing her passion for creativity and stories with children of all ages.
Geordie Lillis
Geordie Lillis is a Filmmaker and Content Creator originating from the Western Downs.
Throughout his career he was worked on movies such as Thor: Ragnarok and Pacific Rim: Uprising and created TV commercials and social media content for brands like RedBull, Ford, Harley Davidson, Mack trucks, Volvo Group Australia and much much more. Geordie has experience working on all forms and scales of video production including: Feature Films, TV Series, Documentary, Music Video, TV Commercials and Online Content.
He travels the world for a living and has just launched his very own production company, the Creators of Awesome. At 29 years old he is proof that it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you want to do, if you work hard enough, anything is possible. Graduating from Dalby State High School in 2013, Geordie has a passion for sharing his story, tips and tricks with the next generation of students in the Western Downs.
Jordan Gould
Jordan Gould is a Peek Whurrong man from Warrnambool, Victoria. He performs Welcome to Country ceremonies at corporate and private gatherings. He is passionate about teaching and talking to groups about culture, language and reconciliation.
Jordan is also the author of the much loved Wylah the Koorie Warrior series including Guardians, Custodians and his latest release, Protectors.