James BradleyJames Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade and Ghost Species, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and Deep Water: The World in the Ocean. His novels and stories have won or been shortlisted for Australian and international literary prizes such as the Miles Franklin Award, the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, the Victorian Premier’s Award for Fiction, the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, the Western Australian Premier’s Award for Fiction, the FAW and Kathleen Mitchell Literary Awards, The Age Fiction Book of the Year, the ALS Gold Medal and the Queensland Literary Award for Non-Fiction. His essays and articles also appear regularly in a wide range of Australian and international publications, and he has been shortlisted for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing twice, nominated for a Walkley, and in 2012 won the Pascall Prize for Australia’s Critic of the Year. In 2022 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for Services to Literature. His latest novel, Landfall, is published by Penguin.
Freya MarskeFreya Marske lives in Australia, where she is yet to be killed by any form of wildlife. She writes stories full of magic, blood, and as much kissing as she can get away with. Her hobbies include figure skating and discovering new art galleries, and she is on a quest to try all the gin in the world.
Her debut novel, the queer historical fantasy A MARVELLOUS LIGHT, was an international bestseller and won the Romantic Novel Award for Fantasy. It kicked off the Last Binding trilogy, which was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Series. Her most recent book, SWORDCROSSED, was published by Bramble and Tor UK in 2024, and her debut novella CINDER HOUSE is forthcoming from Tor.com and Tor UK in October 2025. Her short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Andromeda Spaceways, and several anthologies. She also co-hosted the Hugo Award nominated Be The Serpent podcast along with two other red-headed fantasy authors. In 2020 she was awarded the Australian National SF (Ditmar) Award for Best New Talent. |
Kirstyn McDermottKirstyn McDermott has been working in the darker alleyways of speculative fiction for much of her career. She is the author of two award-winning novels, Madigan Mine and Perfections, along with two collections of short fiction, Caution: Contains Small Parts and Hard Places. Her stories and poetry have been published in various magazines, journals and anthologies within Australia and internationally, with her most recent work being Never Afters, a collection of novellas that retell classic fairy tales. Her next novel, What the Bones Know, is due to be published by Mira/HarperCollins in February 2026. She also holds a PhD in creative writing with a research focus on re-visioned fairy tales and for many years produced and co-hosted a literary discussion podcast, The Writer and the Critic. Kirstyn lives in Ballarat, Australia, with fellow writer Jason Nahrung and two distinctly non-literary felines. She can be found online at www.kirstynmcdermott.com.
Jason Nahrung
Jason Nahrung grew up on a Queensland cattle property and now lives in Ballarat with his wife, the writer Kirstyn McDermott. The author of four novels, a novella, and more than 20 short stories, his fiction is anchored in the speculative genres and typically is darkly themed. These interests have led to an MA exploring Australian vampire Gothic and a PhD delving into climate fiction. Having developed a liking for editing during 30 years of work as a newspaper journalist, he also offers freelance editing and manuscript appraisal services. Find him online at www.jasonnahrung.com.
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