Audience: Academic

Kelly Gardiner

Author

Kelly Gardiner writes historical fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction for all ages. Her latest book is Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, a Jane Austen-inspired crime novel co-authored with Sharmini Kumar.

Her most recent series is ‘The Firewatcher Chronicles’ and her other books include 1917, shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize; Act of Faith and The Sultan’s Eyes, both shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards; and the ‘Swashbuckler’ pirate trilogy. Goddess, a novel based on the life of the sword-fighting opera star, Mademoiselle de Maupin, is being adapted for the screen.

Kelly taught creative writing at La Trobe University for many years and is now writing full-time and running writing retreats and masterclasses. She is President of Sisters in Crime Australia and Deputy Chair of the Australian Society of Authors.

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Maree Coote

Author, Illustrator, Speaking Out

One of the very first to identify the contemporary rise of Melbourne’s cultural and place power, Maree Coote is an energetic inspirational speaker. Her unique understanding of her topic (Melbourne) is made accessible through her command of history, culture, art and design for a wide variety of audiences. According to Philip Adams, “Melbourne never had a more ingenious ambassador.” Coote’s first book The Melbourne Book: A History of Now is in its fourth edition after 12+ years in print, and has been dubbed ‘Melbourne’s Bible’.

Maree’s ingenious typography has caught the attention of international design bodies with her book Spellbound: Making Pictures with the A-B-C winning the coveted Bologna Ragazzi 2017 Special Mention Prize in Italy. (She’s the first Australian to win this prize since Shaun Tan 10 years ago.) It was also shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year awards.
An earlier book Alphabet City Zoo also won a Distinction Prize in Korea’s Nami Concours Awards in a field of entries from 149 countries.

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