Big Summer Read

Jess Racklyef is the author and illustrator of over 30 pictures, including the winner of the CBCA Picture Book of the Year (Iceberg, written by Claire Saxby) and the CBCA Honour Book Eve Pownall (Australia: Country of Colour). In 2024 she was the selected artist for Book Week, creating a design themed on "Reading is Magic." Working in her Melbourne studio, she loves working on books about our environment, usually in watercolours, digital collage and other experimental processes. 

Andrea Rowe is a best-selling, award-winning picture book author. Her debut picture book Jetty Jumping, illustrated by Hannah Sommerville was awarded the 2022 CBCA Picture Book of the Year – Early Childhood. Sunday Skating has been loved by families across Australia and In the Rockpool was announced as 2024 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Notable book. She’s leaping into summer with a new picture book Amid the Sand Dunes. Andrea’s stories combine her nostalgic celebration of culture, family diversity, and the environment in our everyday lives with the questions and conversations that draw us together. Ever since Andrea owned her first library card, she’s been reading out loud and in secret spots in libraries across the land. She lives on Bunurong Country, in the sand dunes of the Mornington Peninsula, where she visits her library every week.

Alice Pung is an award-winning author of books for adults and children. Her titles include Unpolished Gem, Her Father's Daughter, Growing Up Asian in Australia, Laurinda, One Hundred Days, and the Millie Mak books. In 2022 Alice was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to Literature. 

Gabrielle Wang is an award-winning children's author of more than twenty books. She is third generation Chinese Australian and her books are a blend of eastern and western culture with a touch of fantasy. Gabrielle was the Australian Children's Laureate for 2022 and 2023 and is the current Victorian Premiers Reading Challenge Ambassador. 

Sally Rippin is Australia’s highest-selling female author and has written over 100 books for children and young adults, many of them award-winning. As the current Australian Children's Laureate (2024-2025), Sally is travelling around the country to chat about the ways we can share stories and support children who might struggle to read. Sally writes stories with heart and characters that resonate with children, parents, and teachers alike. Her widely popular books are beloved across the globe and have sold more than ten million copies in eighteen countries. A mum of three boys, Sally is particularly passionate about advocacy for kids who may have ADHD, Dyslexia or learning challenges. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is currently working on several books for children as well as adapting her work for the screen

Aunty Fay is a senior Boon Wurrung and Wamba Wamba Elder, First Nations community leader and Koori Court Elder. She is a Language Specialist, working as a prison educator in First Nations languages and is a creative language revival consultant and collaborator. Aunty Fay provides cultural guidance to students and teachers at all levels of the Victorian education system, providing cultural and curriculum advice. In 2020, she was inducted to both the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll. Aunty Fay cares about sharing her culture and stories and loves to take readers on a journey of learning.

Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of twenty books for young people, including A Hunger of Thorns, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and was a CBCA Honour Book. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it. Her latest books are Deep is the Fen and Bravepaw 1: The Heartstone of Alluria.

Andy Griffiths is an internationally successful, award-winning children's author. His books have been bestsellers in his homeland Australia, the USA and the UK. He is the co-creator of the bestselling, award-winning Treehouse series with illustrator Terry Denton, which has been published in over thirty countries. Andy thrives on having an audience: he has worked as a high school teacher; been the lead singer in a rock band and a stand-up comedian. He has two daughters and lives in Melbourne, Australia. The first book in the Treehouse series, 13-Storey Treehouse, won the Sainsburys Children's Book Award in 2015, the Lancashire Fantastic Book Award in 2016, as well as the 2016 Coventry Inspiration Award, and the fourth Treehouse book, The 52-Storey Treehouse, won the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year prize – the first children's book to ever do so.

Andrew McDonald is the author of the bestselling Real Pigeons and Hello Twigs series (both illustrated by Ben Wood). He loves writing stories that make kids laugh, gasp and wonder about the world. His books have been nominated for prizes including the CBCA Book of the Year award for Younger Readers, the Australian Book Industry Awards and the Readings Children’s Book Prize. Andrew lives in Naarm/Melbourne and is a passionate advocate for books, reading and engaging kids through creativity. 

Ben Wood is the illustrator of best-selling series Real Pigeons with Andrew McDonald, which is currently being adapted by Nickelodeon for the screen. Real Pigeons Flap Out was also a Children’s Book Council of Australia 2024 honour book this year. He has illustrated over fifty books for kids, which includes the popular graphic novel series Hello Twigs, and picture books Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees and Blast Off! He lives in Naarm/Melbourne.

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. Richard Pritchard is a Samoan man who has dreamt of writing books since he 􀀠was a teenager. His passion for visual storytelling has led him to work in feature 􀀠films, animation, commercials, and video games. Richard has worked as a 􀀠visual effects artist on films such as The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet, Mad Max:􀀠 Fury Road, and Pacific Rim: Uprising. He started writing scripts for his film ideas 􀀠but has now fulfilled his dream of writing and illustrating books.

Sarah Allen is an illustrator and children’s author based in Melbourne, Australia. Through her colourful picture book series, Sarah introduces children􀀠to Australia's amazing wildlife. Sarah's work has been commissioned for Australia Post stamps, greeting cards, public art and murals.