Mo (Maureen) Johnson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She met her Australian husband while teaching in Japan and moved to Sydney with him in 1991. She is lucky to live by the beach in spectacular Illawarra (NSW) with her husband, Pete, and son, Paddy, and their two dogs, Merlin and Scruffy. She couldn’t live without her Apple computers, her iPod, her crime-fiction collection, and her friendship with fellow authors Di Bates, Sandy Fussell, and Bill Condon, who give her great advice about her writing. Mo loves staying in touch with her best friend, Auds, in Scotland, making short films, taking photographs, elephants, and people who throw back their heads to belly laugh, especially at themselves. Her phobias are flying, swimming pools, cockroaches, and people dressed in animal costumes. When she doodles, Mo draws snails and triangles and people on bicycles.

Kate Constable was born in Sangringham, Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). When she was six-years-old, her family moved to Papua New Guinea where her father worked as a pilot. Constable got her Arts/Law degree at Melborne University, then got a job at Warner Music. She started writing during these years. She wrote several short-stories before becoming an author and after her first attempt at writing a novel she fell in love with the man that is now her husband. They have a daughter. Constable's first official novel was The Singer of All Songs, in a trilogy called The Chanters of Tremaris. It was published in 2002, a few weeks after Constable's daughter was born.

Scot Gardner wasn't born reading and writing; in fact, he left school in year eleven to undertake an apprenticeship in gardening with the local council. He has worked as a waiter, masseur, delivery truck driver, home dad, counselor, and musician. These days he spends half the year writing and half the year on the road talking to people about his books and the craft of writing.

Hello, I'm a Brooklyn-based novelist and host/founder of the storytelling series, Generation Women. I love improv, being cozy, and fun snacks that are salty. My newest book is an ensemble romantic comedy called ISLAND TIME. I also wrote IT HAD TO BE YOU, THE BUCKET LIST, THE REGULARS, PARCHED and SHE'S WITH THE BAND. I'm originally from Australia, and have been living in New York for 13 years. Wanna know more? AMA.

Thalia grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Melbourne with a mum who tried to save battery hens by on-selling them as backyard chickens. Her dad worked as an industrial chemist while also growing strawberries, carrots and Christmas trees on the farm. It was not unusual to find plant shoots in the freezer, or the hair dryer missing because it was needed to heat one of her dad’s experiments. Thalia's childhood showed her the magic that can happen when science and nature combine with human creativity. In 2012, Thalia released her first standalone young adult novel, Silhouette, which follows a talented and determined young dancer as she navigates her way into the adult world of commercial dance. These days, Thalia lives in regional Victoria with her husband, their two children and two black cats.

Years ago, Melaina Faranda washed up on Thursday Island penniless and soaking, with a single change of clothes, only to be loaned an entire new wardrobe and given three jobs on the first day, including working at the local bakery. Someone gave her a house to live in, people took her out fishing and told stories, and a wonderful old islander gave her the same precious gift Edie receives before returning to Cairns. Melaina has since traveled across Australia and around the world, with many elements of these journeys finding their way into her novels, including The Circle series and Big Sky, but she has yet to discover a place where there is more generosity and open-heartedness than that shown by the Thursday Islanders.