VOLUME 2026: Speakers

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO is a Eualayai/Gamillaroi woman, award-winning author and filmmaker, and a leading advocate for Indigenous rights and social justice. She is a Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney. Larissa is Chair of the National Library of Australia and Chair of Writing Australia, and serves on the boards of several major cultural and public institutions, including Creative Australia and the Australian Museum. Her books include the novels Home, Legacy and After Story, which won the 2022 Voss Literary Prize. Her award-winning screen work includes After the Apology, Maralinga Tjarutja, One Mind, One Heart and, most recently, the ABC series Judgment: Cases That Shaped Australia. She is also the host of ABC Radio National’s Speaking Out. In 2020, Larissa was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Wiradjuri man Ben Bowen is the CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). Ben is a proud Aboriginal man, a descendent of the Wiradjuri Nation with family links to the Gandangara, Dharrawal and Yuin Nations. He was born and raised on the Gadigal and Wangal lands of the Sydney basin. Ben has worked nationally and internationally, collaborating with both Indigenous Communities and government to create opportunities in education, health, and economic development. He has extensive experience in systems leadership and strategy. Since 2007, Ben has worked for and with First Nations people in the not-for-profit sector, building programs, developing strategy, sourcing funding, collaborating with partners, and shaping thought leadership within the university sector. As a former professional athlete, he understands the power of teamwork and believes in leading from within the team, nurturing a sense of circular responsibility and accountability, each person to the other. He believes that we are lifelong learners and is passionate about early childhood education and the power of literacy.

Dr Lilly Brown is an interdisciplinary educator, facilitator, researcher, the CEO of celebrated First Nations publishing house Magabala Books and Co-Founder of the women-led collective, Shifting Ground. She holds qualifications in education including from the University of Cambridge and University of Melbourne and has worked with organisations and institutions across in education and across other sectors on the development of practices that seek to rehumanise First Nations people and challenge anti-Indigenous racism. Lilly’s research and work has consistently centred the importance of valuing First Nations storytelling, and the relationship between young people and Elders, as key to the wellbeing of our communities. Lilly lives in Rubibi, the Yawuru place name for Broome, and belongs to the Gumbaynggirr people of the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

Debbie Challis is a cultural historian, writer and audience led producer working in archives, museums and libraries. She works on the ancient past in the modern world, gender politics and the impact of racist theory in British history and society during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. She is a Creative Producer at the Portico Library Manchester, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool.
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Debbie curates exhibitions, give talks and produce in person and online public events, from panel discussions to stand up and art workshops. She project manages funded projects from grant to delivery in the heritage and library sector. Debbie combines socially engaged practice with fun and place empathy at the heart of my approaches to the past and reading.

Emily Copeland is Campaign Lead at Music Australia, where she leads the national AUSIFY behaviour-change initiative designed to increase the discovery, consumption and support of Australian music. Drawing on deep expertise across strategy, marketing, media and partnerships, she works to connect more Australians with local artists and strengthen the long-term sustainability of Australia’s music ecosystem.

Prior to joining Music Australia, Emily held senior leadership positions including ABC Head of Music, ARN Director of Audience Innovation and Partnerships, and General Manager of CADA. She is also the founder of strategic partnerships consultancy Good Authority.

Emily serves on the board of Heaps Decent, is a former Vice Chair of fbi radio, and a recipient of the CEW Hansen Scholarship.

After cutting her teeth in Australia’s best advertising agencies, Shannon spent the past decade guiding independent clients and multinational teams in creative direction, cross-platform storytelling and behaviour change.

She’s worked with Airbnb, YouTube, Netflix, Nike, Samsung and other global brands, with work recognised at all major award shows.

Today, as Director of Copy at Who Gives A Crap, she’s found the sweet spot where passion meets purpose – and where a well-placed bum joke can genuinely change the world.

She’s also a passionate university lecturer, proud advocate of equality and mum to two little humans. Her plate is full, but so is her heart.

Tim Jarvis is the owner and director of Fullers Bookshop, Hobart. He’s also a current member of the Writing Australia Council, and a former chair of the Australian Booksellers’ Association.

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy. Her multi-award winning work has sold well over a million copies, been translated into nearly thirty languages, and is in development for film and TV. Amie builds community through in-person events, her monthly newsletter, her physical mail club, and in online spaces. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie lives by the sea in Melbourne with her family, and an extremely large personal library. Her latest books are One Knight Stand, the sequel to Lady’s Knight, and Red Star Rebels. You can keep up with what she’s working on, enter giveaways, join her mail club and track her events by signing up for her newsletter at amiekaufman.com.

Alysha Farry is an experienced publishing and marketing professional with more than two decades of experience across publicity, communications, marketing and brand strategy. She is currently the Marketing & Publicity Director at Hachette Australia, where she leads campaigns that connect authors and books with audiences across Australia. Throughout her career, Alysha has held senior roles at leading publishing houses, including Penguin Random House Australia. Her work spans consumer marketing, publicity, communications, audio publishing and digital media, giving her a broad understanding of the rapidly evolving publishing landscape. Alysha holds a Master of Arts and a postgraduate Diploma in Psychology.

Peta Granger is Chief Operating Officer at QBD Books, Australia’s largest and fastest-growing physical bookseller, with more than 90 stores nationwide. She leads strategy execution across retail, customer experience, commercial performance and people capability, and is helping shape QBD’s evolution into a more customer-led, data-informed and experiential retailer.

Peta brings more than 25 years of senior leadership at LUSH and Koko Black, where she led growth and transformation across Australia and international markets. Her career has focused on creating high-performing cultures, strengthening frontline leadership and turning strategy into meaningful experiences for customers and teams.

Bec Kavanagh is a writer, literary critic and academic living in Naarm whose work examines the representation of women’s bodies in literature.

Bec’s reviews can be found in The Guardian, and Australian Book Review and she has written fiction and non-fiction for a number of publications including Overland, The Big Issue and Mascara’s Resilience anthology.

Bec has worked for the Stella Prize, the Wheeler Centre, Faber Academy and Australia Reads. She is currently Senior Tutor in Creative Writing and Publishing at the University of Melbourne. Externally, she runs ‘Body Writing’, a series of 3-hour life drawing classes for writers.

Shay P Leighton is a social activist, community organiser, and creator of Tough Guy Book Club who has spent 25 years bringing people together to build stronger communities. Shay works to rebuild civic networks and tackle social issues like reading levels, community health, and loneliness through values- and narrative-based community organising.

Across 15 years and more than 8,000 book clubs, he has been getting men to read books and talk to each other in the third spaces of their neighbourhoods. His lifelong fascination with people and stories fuels his passion to change the way men see reading, putting rowdy book conversations back into our everyday lives where they belong.

“There is no reason that men can’t talk about books the way they talk about football, we just need to build the place for it.” — Shay P. Leighton

Andrea Lewis is CEO of Somerset Storyfest, a charity based on the Gold Coast that develops and delivers children’s literacy programmes.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the literary, arts and cultural sector, Andrea has been instrumental in growing Storyfest into one of Australia’s foremost writers’ festivals. She is a passionate advocate for children’s literature and the power of storytelling to inspire, educate and connect young people. Andrea has recently joined the board of the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation.

Andrea is particularly committed to championing Australian children’s authors, illustrators and storytellers, creating opportunities for their stories and creative work to reach and inspire new generations of readers. Through collaboration, strong partnerships and innovative programming, she continues to advocate for literacy, Australian stories and meaningful engagement with literature for children and young people across throughout Australia.

Adibah Omar is the Chief Executive Officer of Kota Buku Corporation, Malaysia’s national agency responsible for developing the country’s book industry and reading ecosystem. A former educator, she has spent more than two decades championing literacy, publishing development and equitable access to knowledge through national policy, strategic partnerships and digital innovation. Under her leadership, Kota Buku has transformed into one of the region’s leading publishing development agencies, spearheading Malaysia’s nationwide Book Voucher Initiative, strengthening the publishing ecosystem, and leveraging technology to connect millions of readers with books. She is widely recognised for advocating a simple but transformative principle: “Create Readers Before Creating Markets.” Her work demonstrates that sustainable publishing industries are built by expanding the community of readers first.

Adibah is internationally recognised for advancing the concept of Knowledge Equity, the belief that every citizen, regardless of geography, socioeconomic background or physical ability, deserves equal access to knowledge, and for promoting Hybrid Intelligence, where human wisdom and artificial intelligence work together to strengthen decision-making, publishing and lifelong learning. At the 35th International Publishers Congress in Kuala Lumpur in 2026, she introduced The Reading Nation Model, first introduced by Malaysia, a systems framework demonstrating how governments can intentionally build reading cultures by aligning public policy, technology, industry collaboration and equitable access to knowledge. The model has attracted growing international interest as a practical framework adaptable across different countries and cultures. In 2026, Adibah became the first publishing industry leader from Southeast Asia to be shortlisted among the Top Three Finalists worldwide in the Innovation category of the PublisHer Excellence Awards. A sought-after international speaker, Adibah regularly shares insights on publishing innovation, reading culture, AI, public policy and cultural diplomacy. Through her work, she continues to champion a future where knowledge is accessible to everyone and where every nation has the opportunity to build a thriving culture of reading.

Joanna Prior OBE is Chief Executive of Pan Macmillan, one of the UK’s leading publishing houses, home to an award-winning and bestselling list of fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and audio. Pan Macmillan publishes books for readers of all ages, from literary and commercial fiction to narrative non-fiction, children’s classics and bestselling series, working with authors whose writing entertains, informs and shapes public conversation.

Joanna joined Pan Macmillan as CEO in April 2022, after twenty-three years at Penguin, thirteen as Managing Director of Penguin General Books. Across a career spanning more than three decades, she has played a significant leadership role in shaping the modern UK publishing landscape, combining commercial success with a deep commitment to authors, illustrators and readers.

During her years in publishing, Prior has held a number of influential industry positions. She has served as President of The Publishers Association, as well as Chair of the Consumer Publishing Council. She was Chair of World Book Day in 2012 and spent a decade on the board of the Women’s Prize, including six years as Chair, expanding the Prize’s cultural reach as well as leading it to become a charity to support and champion women’s writing.

She has been Chair of the National Literacy Trust since 2022 and a Trustee before that, supporting its mission to empower children and young people through literacy. The NLT is currently responsible for delivering the National Year of Reading across the UK.

Joanna Prior is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge with an MA (Cantab) in English Literature (1984).

Awarded an OBE for services to publishing and literacy, Joanna is a prominent advocate for literacy, creativity and access to reading.

Rachel Bin Salleh is descended from the Yawuru and Nimunburr peoples of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. She started her career in publishing at Magabala Books in the 1990s and became publisher in 2014. In 2018, she wrote her first book Alfred’s War. In 2019, she was the recipient of The Lions Literary Medal for her substantial contribution to Western Australia’s literary culture.

In 2025 Rachel was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for outstanding contribution to literature and was the recipient of the Pixie O’Harris Award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Australian Publishers Association.

Jess Scully is Executive Director of RadicalxChange Foundation, an international nonprofit advancing participatory governance for the age of AI. RadicalxChange advances Plurality — a commitment to keeping human agency and democratic participation central to technological development — through research, civic technology prototypes, and partnerships that build civic capacity in communities around the world.

Previously, Jess served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, co-founded and directed Vivid Ideas — Australia’s largest creative industries festival — and held roles as a World Bank consultant, ministerial policy adviser, editor, and broadcaster. She is Chair of Parents for Climate, a member of Women for Election’s Political Advisory Board, and a Senior Associate at the Sydney Policy Lab. She is an HDR candidate in Political Philosophy at the University of Sydney. Her book Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World explores community-led solutions and institutional innovation to address the climate and inequality crises.

Veronica Sullivan is Festival Director/CEO of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Previously, she was Head of Programming at The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas.

Chad Toprak is an award-winning experimental game designer, independent curator, and first-generation Turkish Muslim immigrant based in Naarm. He is a community leader who makes playful installations, public art, and experimental games. A champion of game-making as arts practice, Chad encourages the gathering, making, and playing of games in social and public spaces with the aim of demystifying the cultural richness and potential of the artform. His works have been shown in galleries, museums, streets, and plazas across Australia and around the world.

Adele Walsh is currently Lead Coordinator Library Strategy at the City of Charles Sturt Library Service in Adelaide, where she works on practical, community-centred approaches to public library strategy and service. Adele was previously as Program Manager of the Centre for Youth Literature at State Library Victoria – running the Inky Awards, the biennial Reading Matters conference, and Inside a Dog, the national teen reading platform. Adele has also held roles at La Trobe University Library and State Library Victoria’s library sector engagement team. Adele has written about reading culture for Meanjin and Books+Publishing and spent years as one of Australia’s first dedicated YA bloggers at Persnickety Snark. Adele co-hosts the Bridgerton podcast What Would Danbury Do? with Kate Cuthbert.

Tully Walter is a futurist, trend forecaster and Senior Strategist at WGSN, the global authority on consumer trend forecasting. Tully has influenced the consumer strategy for some of the world’s leading brands including: McDonald’s, Pinterest, Kmart, Mars and Carlton United Breweries. Recognised as a thought leader on consumer shifts, Tully has been quoted in Vogue, The ABC, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, Inside Retail and Broadsheet.

Latoya West-Blackwood is a cultural strategist and creative producer specializing in publishing, project management and nonprofit leadership. She is the founder of iPublish Consultancy, its imprint iMagiNation Books, and director of the Jamaica Book Festival. A recipient of the Yale School of Management International Publishing Leader Award and the Governor General’s Award for Excellence, she is recognized for expanding access to diverse and culturally relevant books for young readers in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. She is a former PublisHER advisory board member and currently serves as a Commissioner of the Early Childhood Commission of Jamaica and Co-Chair of the Jamaica National Children’s Book Collective. Latoya is also a member of the International Publishers Association’s Inclusive Publishing and Literacy Committee where she serves as Co-Lead of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee. She’s an amateur genealogist who enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Dr Breanna Wright is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Health and Social Portfolio at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash University. Breanna specialises in unpacking complex problems using behavioural science to understand the drivers and barriers to specific behaviours. She has also done a lot of working understanding how differences between people can influence their behaviours and the types of solutions that are most likely to work.

Xuan is a marketing and content specialist and the co-founder of Amplify Bookstore who spends way too much time on her phone (is scrolling on TikTok technically work?). You’ll find her on our TikTok or occasionally inspiring the youths.

Helen Adam is an Associate Professor and Researcher in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. She is also the President of the Board of the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia (PETAA). Helen’s research focuses on promoting equitable education and learning environments through publication and use of authentically diverse literature to empower all learners and to help break down barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding. Her work is published in internationally renowned journals, and she is frequently called on for expert media comment and as a presenter to diverse audiences of educators and academics. In 2023, Helen undertook a Churchill Fellowship to the USA and UK meeting with leading international academics investigating ways to enhance expertise in children’s books as vehicles for disrupting prejudice and discrimination the culmination of this is her newly released book: Creating Equitable Literacy Learning Environment: A Transformative Model (Routledge, 2026)

Dr Emily Baulch is a McKenzie Fellow at the University of Melbourne researching children’s media and literacy. Her research work examines the everyday ways children engage with stories and meaning making across books, television, digital media, games and popular culture, and how these media experiences can be built upon to support children’s literacy development.

Emily brings extensive publishing and brand experience to her research, having previously managed the global publishing program for Bluey at Ludo Studio, where she wrote, edited and led the art development of multiple bestselling books. She authored the NYT bestselling children’s book Bartlebee’s First Christmas.

She continues to work across properties like Bluey and Peppa Pig with media companies in the US and the UK and is the author of the forthcoming book The Home Bookshelf: Reading Culture in Everyday Life, published by Cambridge University Press. She also consults on social issues, including for not-for-profits.

Tash Besliev is currently Executive Publisher, Children’s at Simon & Schuster Australia, with 25 years’ experience spanning editorial, branding, marketing, sales and publishing strategy. She has helped build bestselling children’s brands including Billie B Brown and Life Lessons for Little Ones, worked with entertainment powerhouses including Disney, ABC Kids and The Wiggles, and with iconic estates including Enid Blyton and Tintin. Today she works with creators including Amelia Mellor, Your Kid’s Next Read, Jess Racklyeft, Sarah Jane Lightfoot and Brentos to build books and brands that connect with young readers. Having spent her career thinking not only about what children want to read, but how books reach them through parents, educators, booksellers, retailers and other influential gatekeepers, Tash is passionate about finding sustainable ways to put great books into the hands of every child.

Margarida Castellano-Sanz is Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literature Education at the University of València. Her research explores children’s literature, multimodal literacies, reading promotion, and teacher education, with a particular interest in how literature can foster critical thinking and social awareness through meaningful learning experiences. She has coordinated funded research projects and published extensively in the fields of literary and language education.

Queenie Chan was born in Hong Kong, and migrated to Australia when she was six years old. Her first published work was a 3-volume mystery-horror series called “The Dreaming” for LA-based manga publisher TOKYOPOP, reissued in 2024. After that, she collaborated on several graphic novels with best-selling author Dean Koontz and Kylie Chan, and produced her own works such as fairy-tale inspired fantasy “Fabled Kingdom”, and biographical comics on famous historical queens called “Women Who Were Kings”. She has also published “The Mystery Cases of Sister Holmes” with Viz.  

She has a PhD on Capitalism and Digital Comics from Macquarie University, and is working on a self-contained sequel to “The Dreaming” and some short stories. Please visit www.queeniechan.com for more information.

Megan Daley is Head of Education at StoryBox Hub, co-founder of Your Kid’s Next Read (community, podcast, and Your Next Read series), Artistic Director of Somerset Storyfest, and an award winning teacher librarian, author, podcaster, literary judge and speaker.

Megan has been recognised with the ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year Award, the QSLA Teacher Librarian of the Year Award and the national Dromkeen Librarian’s Award. Her books include Raising Readers (UQP, 2019, second edition 2025), Teacher, Teacher (Affirm Press, 2023) and The Beehive (Walker Books, 2024), winner of an Apimondia International Beekeeping Award.

Your Kid’s Next Read has also grown into a junior fiction series, Your Next Read, created in partnership with Affirm Press. By the end of 2027 the series will comprise 34 titles, designed to give young readers a wide and varied reading experience.

Kristin Darell is a Sydney-based writer and the best-selling author of ten books for children. After a long career as a broadcast journalist, Kristin now loves sharing stories from her imagination with kids and is also a passionate advocate for children’s literature. She has been working as the Program Director for the Australian Children’s Laureate Program for over seven years, guiding the direction of the Laureate Program. She was a past Director of the CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Region and assists with running the ASLA DANZ Children’s Book Awards.

Louise Denoon is the Executive Director, Community Partnerships, at the State Library of Queensland. Community Partnerships portfolio is responsible for building enduring, collaborative partnerships across the State. In partnership with local government, the portfolio strives to provide all Queenslanders with access to a dynamic library service that supports communities to meet the challenges of the future. It positions State Library, public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres as central to communities’ digital access, support and skills development and as champions of children through First 5 Forever and onsite programs.

Associate Professor Jane Garner is a scholar in the field of library and information studies, with a particular focus on the social justice roles of public and prison libraries. She holds a PhD from RMIT University and is currently based at Charles Sturt University, where she has been a member of academic staff since 2018. Her research and teaching concentrate on how library services can support under-served and disadvantaged communities, including people experiencing homelessness and those in prison. She has held multiple research grants, including an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship, and is regularly invited to speak nationally and internationally about her work.

Andy Griffiths is one of the most popular children’s authors in Australia. He has written 33 books, including nonsense verse, short stories, comic novels and plays. His books have been New York Times bestsellers, won 80 children’s choice awards, been adapted as a television cartoon series and sold 13 million copies in Australia and New Zealand.

Andy is best known as the author of the JUST! series, The Day My Bum Went Psycho and the bestselling, award-winning, record-breaking Treehouse series, illustrated by Terry Denton.

Andy is the Australian Children’s Laureate 2026-2027 and champions the power of reading as an adventure that all children and families can enjoy.

Cindy Manfong is a proud Jingili, Mudburra and Mangarrayi woman from Katherine, NT and the Publishing Projects Editor at the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). She started at the ILF over 10 years ago as a Program Coordinator and has worked in many departments since. Cindy’s experience working with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities around Australia has led her a valuable place in publishing, in which she is trusted with sacred stories from unique parts of the country. Publishing with the ILF requires experience with remote Australia, trust and guidance from Community contacts, respect for cultural protocols, and a love for storytelling. Through this work, Cindy has collaborated with Ambassadors such as Justine Clarke, Alison Lester, Gregg Dreise, Jessica Mauboy, as well as local artists, authors, children and language speakers from all over Australia.

Ellie Marney is a New York Times bestselling author of thrillers for teens and adults. Her titles include the Aurealis-awarded NONE SHALL SLEEP and its sequels, the ARA Historical Novel Prize-nominated THE KILLING CODE, the EVERY BREATH series, and her new adult series starter NO ONE IS SAFE. Her books are sold worldwide and have been optioned for the screen. Ellie has spent a lifetime researching murder, autopsy, and police processes, and knows how to make explosives out of household items – now she lives sedately in north-central Victoria while she writes her next book. You can find her online @elliemarney or via her newsletter The Black Hand.

Karys McEwen is an author, school librarian and education advisor based in Naarm/Melbourne. She works across schools, literary organisations and professional associations to connect young people and teachers with contemporary Australian writing. Her practice focuses on inclusive collections, reading engagement, curriculum resources and meaningful classroom encounters with literature.

Dr Margaret Merga is an Associate Professor in the Institute for Design, Media and Educational Science at the University of Southern Denmark in Kolding. She has published over a hundred peer-reviewed journal articles and seven books on reading, libraries, literacy, doctoral publication, research methods and research communications. Her research has been cited more than 5,600 times and translated into many languages for academic, professional and public audiences. Her work on reading engagement has been used to inform policies and interventions on reading both in Australia and internationally. She has delivered invited keynote presentations in many international contexts. Margaret also leads Merga Consulting, working with universities, schools, professional associations and government departments on a range of projects.

Alyson O’Brien has worked in children’s publishing for over 15 years across editorial and publishing roles, including leading the imprints Little Hare and Bright Light. She is currently the Publishing Director at Little Book Press, the not-for-profit publishing wing of Raising Literacy Australia. Alyson is passionate about memorable stories that ignite a lifelong love of reading and has published a wide range of bestselling and award-winning titles, such as Two Turtles, The Thing About Christmas, Jetty Jumping and The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name.

Dr Bronwyn Reddan is a researcher with a background in the history of literary cultures, with particular interests in recreational reading, children’s and young adult literature and social reading practices. She is interested in understanding the dynamics of digital and analogue social reading cultures and how we can encourage young people to read for pleasure. She is a co-author of Social Reading Cultures on BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok (Routledge, 2024) with Leonie Rutherford, Amy Schoonens, Michael Dezuanni.

Sophie Reid has been a bookseller for almost thirty years, working in numerous award-winning bookstores in Australia and overseas. She taught children English in Japan for three years, and became an expert in children’s books after returing to Australia. Since 2023 she has been running Literacy Excursions for primary school groups at Fullers Bookshop in Hobart.

Sally Rippin is a best-selling and beloved children’s author, with more than ten million books in print worldwide and translations into over sixteen languages. Her popular series include Billie B Brown, Hey Jack! and School of Monsters. She is also co-author of The World We Can Build, with Eliza Hull, illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett.
Sally has published Wild Things: How We Learn to Read and What Can Happen If We Don’t, supporting adults to better understand and support neurodivergent and dyslexic children at home and in the classroom.
Sally was Australia’s Eighth Children’s Laureate (2024–2025), advocating for reading and Australian children’s literature, with a focus on learning difficulties and effective approaches to teaching children to read.
She recently joined the newly formed Writing Australia Council, advising on national initiatives supporting writers, readers and the book industry. She is also developing some of her work for screen.

Jenny Ryan is the Editor and Digital Publisher for Copyright Agency’s Reading Australia initiative. She connects English teachers and school librarians with freely available and curriculum-linked resources to promote the teaching and reading of diverse Australian literature.

Currently the Strategic Partnerships Executive with Early Childhood Australia, Kirrin Sampson is a non-executive director for The Children’s Book Council Australia, Raising Literacy Australia and The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature.

Kirrin previously worked for the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), where she supported the development of library-based literary and literacy programs and advocacy initiatives, including ALIA’s National Simultaneous Storytime, Speechie Library Talks with Speech Pathology Australia, and the National Early Language and Literacy Coalition.

She has served as a judge for The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the ABIAs, the CBCA Book of the Year Awards, and advised on a number literary initiatives, including Reading Australia.

For more than three decades, Jo Smith has worn many hats in education, but nothing rivals the spark of watching a student fall in love with reading. She deeply enjoys helping learners discover the transformative power of literature, believing that the right book—whether fiction or non-fiction—can change everything. Every student has a gateway book waiting to ignite their passion; they simply need friction-free access to a library curated to their needs and the skills to navigate it confidently.

To create these accessible pathways, Jo spearheaded a three-year project to genrefy her school library. This initiative transformed how students interact with books, dramatically boosting engagement, literacy skills, and independent reading habits. She is passionate about empowering students to navigate quality literature, and is excited to share practical insights on how opening up these worlds of possibility builds a vibrant, lifelong culture of reading.

Jane Stratton is the CEO of the Think+DO Tank Foundation, an organisation she founded in 2013. In 2017, Jane created LOST IN BOOKS, a multilingual bookshop and creative community hub in Fairfield, Southwestern Sydney.

LOST IN BOOKS is a social enterprise multilingual bookshop; creative catalyser and producer of multilingual programming and literature; agent of translation, language exchange and language learning; and a capacity builder in Australian books and publishing, translation and educational sectors.

Jane works to create the conditions for people and communities to shape the decisions, systems and institutions that affect their lives. The organisation facilitates the intersection between creativity, knowledge and collective action, with a focus on removing barriers to participation, strengthening community agency and opening up space for voices and perspectives too often excluded from decision-making.

She has an accomplished background in commercial and public interest law, human rights and social policy, and has worked with leading rights-based organisations including Human Rights Watch, UNHCR and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Brittany Sutherland is a qualified teacher and library professional with experience working across both public and school library settings. Passionate about literacy, learning, and student wellbeing, Brittany is committed to creating welcoming and inclusive spaces where young people feel supported and empowered. She strives to make the library a vibrant hub where students have a voice, can explore their interests, build meaningful connections, and develop a love of reading.

Deb Tsorbaris is a leading advocate for children, young people and families with over 30 years of experience in executive roles in the not for profit and public sectors.

As National Children’s Commissioner, Ms Tsorbaris promotes and protects children’s human rights.

Before commencing as National Children’s Commissioner, Ms Tsorbaris was, since 2013, the CEO of the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Victoria’s peak body for child and family services. She also holds several key advisory roles, including as a member of the Victorian Children’s Council and the Victorian Women’s Ministerial Correctional Services Committee, and as Co-Chair of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse Advisory Group.

Ms Tsorbaris provides policy leadership to governments across Australia and has been instrumental in advancing the rights of vulnerable and marginalised children. In recognition of her outstanding work with children, Ms Tsorbaris was honoured with the prestigious Robin Clark Leadership Award in 2022.

Alex Wharton is a P–12 English teacher, literary advocate, and doctoral researcher dedicated to championing young readers and critical thinkers. A former school principal and Head of English with extensive leadership across regional and metropolitan schools, Alex blends classroom practice with deep sector expertise. He is currently a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University, investigating youth media literacy and critical engagement.

Beyond the school gate, Alex works actively to elevate children’s and young adult literature, serving as Co-Convenor of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards and an inaugural Ambassador for Poetry in Action. He is a former director of the NSW English Teachers Association. A frequent awards judge, syllabus writer, and literacy speaker, he champions rich reading cultures that bridge creative arts, media engagement, and classroom pedagogy. Alex is committed to ensuring every young person discovers the transformative power of Australian literature and shared stories.

Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of more than 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 the Bravepaw series and Unhallowed Halls.