Scott Bevan

Barry Maitland is the author of the acclaimed Brock and Kolla series of crime mystery novels set in London, as well as the Australian mystery thriller Bright Air and the new Belltree Trilogy.

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Planet Jassi

Planet Jassi is an Australian YouTube channel with an innovative approach to delivering evidence-based early intervention for children with autism and developmental disabilities. It is a teaching channel for parents/caregivers, educators, speech therapists, occupational therapists, child psychologists and special education teachers. This channel is suitable for all children who want to have expert social communication skills, social emotional skills, improved cognition and learning skills and want to learn how to be the best version of themselves.

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Eliza Brearly

Eliza Brearley is a 23-year-old actor, model, singer, swimmer and now, YouTuber, as host of Australia’s first autism therapy YouTube channel. Through her YouTube channel, Eliza wants to show that having a disability doesn’t mean you can’t learn, and we all have the potential to be the best version of ourselves. She wants parents, carers and teachers to not give up and keep challenging kids with autism to go outside their comfort zone. She thanks her parents for putting her in a mainstream education at a time where most kids with her level of disability went to segregated special education settings.

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Jamie Lewis

Living in a right-handed world, left-handed people learn to creatively solve problems from a very young age, so Jamie has a lot of experience. An award-winning film maker and super-talented writer, he has the ability to walk into a room, drop the f-bomb and charm the pants off everyone there. His humour is subversive, his enthusiasm is contagious and his willingness to share and build ideas is inspiring.

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Read more about the article David Musgrave
Poet, David Musgrave, photographed near his home in Glebe Sydney NSW.

David Musgrave

David Musgrave is an Australian poet, novelist, publisher and critic. He is the founder of and publisher at Puncher & Wattmann, an independent press which publishes Australian poetry and literary fiction. He is also a board member of Australian Poetry Limited.

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Deborah Lee

Deborah Lee is Senior Manager, Content Acquisition and Business Development, with Ingram Lightning Source. Formerly an academic publisher and a trade sales representative, Debbie has seen the world of publishing change dramatically over her 30-year career. She considers the advent of print-on-demand and global distribution among the most significant contributing factors, giving the indie author and smaller press the same capabilities and access to market as the traditional, mainstream publishing house.

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Read more about the article Graham Davidson
Festival Director Graham Davidson

Graham Davidson

Having wanted to be an artist since he was old enough to hold a pencil, Graham Davidson is a professional creative with over 40 years experience in a broad range of creative fields. In the early 80s he was one of Australia’s pioneers in special effects and computer animation. He also has extensive experience as a director, editor and cinematographer. His work in advertising has been recognised with over 30 national industry awards.

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Sue Whiting

Sue Whiting is a children’s and YA author and editor who has worked in publishing for two decades. Sue was senior commissioning editor and publishing manager for Walker Books Australia for many years before leaving in 2016 to concentrate on her writing. As a storyteller and schools’ performer, Sue has informed, inspired and entertained thousands of kids across the country. She is also a freelance children’s book editor and writing coach, and the author of numerous books, including the bestselling Missing, the award-winning A Swim in the Sea and the CBCA Notable Books, Platypus, Get a Grip, Cooper Jones and Beware the Deep Dark Forest.

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