Maria Blackman is, among other things, a writer from Perth, Western Australia. Some of the other things include being a former art student, a teacher, and an academic. She writes short fiction and essays. Her literary influences include Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury and Haruki Murakami. She also likes to write and illustrate stories for children. You can find her on social media at Maria Blackman Creates (Facebook and Instagram) or @blackman_maria on Twitter
Desmond Doyle came late to writing and is trying to make up for lost time, which is not easy considering his other roles as husband, father and a pesky full-time job. Desmond has achieved some success in short story competitions with stories aimed at both adult and younger readers, with a first place and a people choice the highlights so far. After living all around Australia Desmond has settled in the beautiful Newcastle NSW… for now. When not writing, parenting or working he can be found behind a craft beer – actually, he can be found there when writing sometimes too. @desdwriter on Instagram and Twitter.
Sarah Howlett is a Year 7 student and aspiring author, whose thirst for writing leads to an unrelenting exploration of different literary genres. In addition to writing, and as a great source of fuel for her imagination, she enjoys reading young adult horror and supernatural novels. One of her favourite authors is Derek Landy, and she finds herself so drawn into the stories that she develops strong emotional connections with the characters. Another of Sarah’s pastimes is creating artwork through sketching and painting, and here she draws further inspiration from her favourite author as she develops her skills at bringing to life the faces of the characters that she loves. When she’s not at school or following her creative pursuits, Sarah enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and numerous pets
Anna McEvoy is a Brisbane-based writer of fantasy fiction. Her paranormal short story ‘Last Light’ was published in Lighthouse – An Anthology (Lorikeet Ink, 2020). She has written dozens of short stories and has won and longlisted in the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Furious Fiction several times. Anna loves to travel and does her best writing on aeroplanes, so it’s a good thing she works for an airline. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @AnnaSMcEvoy.
D W (David) Walker lives in Canberra. He has worked as worked as a research physicist, and a designer and developer of computer systems, and has taught at tertiary level in these areas. Most of his writing is satirical and often doesn't fit comfortably into the standard genres. Some can be labelled speculative fiction (because it is futuristic or set on other planets) but is sometimes accused of not being that, while others are more "finding out" stories, more akin to mysteries (though usually lacking dead bodies). He also draws cartoons. Some of this appears on his web site: www.dwalker.id.au . Published works include a novel (A Plastic Paradise, set in Canberra in the future), two computing text books (one co-authored), lots of short stories and cartoons, a very small amount of poetry, and song words for the Shiny Bum Singers (a group who do Work Songs of the Public Service).
Belinda Oliver is a short story writer who studied Professional Writing at university. Her stories have appeared in the Grieve 2018 anthology and the 2019 Wyndham Writing Awards Anthology. She has also had previous creative pieces published in The Age and Offset Literary Magazine. Belinda is a mum to one son and two cats, as well as a part time gardener. She loves finding inspiration for her short stories in everyday moments of life. You can find Belinda at www.belindaoliver.com.
Ron Addenbrooke was born to an airforce family, moved every 2 years around Australia and overseas. His first written works was at the age of 12 with ‘Ali and the Warehouse mystery’, lost somewhere within the teacher faculty in Malaysia. He has written ever since. First published in 2014 with his baby ‘Shadow Light Bloodline’… Added to and refined over many years. There is now a ‘Shadow Light’ series and ‘Shadow Light History’ series and a smattering of other short stories and novels he is working on. Now at 64 out of 20 years of Caravan Park Management and now semi retired, life allows time to persue his passion and put his mind into print. ‘Shadow Light’ is just the beginning, see his world at ronaddenbrooke.com.
Zena Shapter writes from a castle in a flying city hidden by a thundercloud. Author of 'Towards White' (IFWG 2017) and co-author of 'Into Tordon' (MidnightSun 2016), she’s won over a dozen writing competitions – including a Ditmar Award, Glen Miles Short Story Prize, andAustralasian Horror Writers’ Association Award for Short Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in the Hugo-nominated 'Sci Phi Journal', 'Midnight Echo' and their Australian Shadows Awarded ‘best’ anthology, ‘Antipodean SF’, and Award-Winning Australian Writing (twice). She’s a movie buff, story nerd, writing mentor and editor, book creator, short story judge and an inclusive creativity advocate, who’s founded community creativity projects for writers such as the ‘Art & Words Project’ and the award-winning Northern Beaches Writers’ Group. She loves frogs, chocolate, potatoes, and travelling. Find her online via social media @ZenaShapter and zenashapter.com