In Conversation

Dr Kate Cuthbert is an editor and book industry professional. She has held senior roles at Books+Publishing, Pantera Press, Writers Victoria and launched the Escape Publishing brand at Harlequin Australia. Her book How to Judge a Book by its Cover was released in November 2025. A genre fiction advocate and enthusiast, she is the co-host on the popular podcast What Would Danbury Do?

A. K. Mulford is a bestselling fantasy author and former wildlife biologist who swapped rehabilitating monkeys for writing novels.  They/she is inspired to create diverse stories that transport readers to new realms, making them fall in love with fantasy for the first time or all over again.  They now live in Australia with their husband and two young human primates, creating lovable fantasy characters and making ridiculous TikToks.

Stacey McEwan is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of romantic fantasy. Her high school English teacher once called her writing “above year level standard” and she took that B+ very seriously. Stacey received a bachelor’s degree in education in 2012 and worked as a classroom teacher for eleven years. She is a content creator on multiple platforms, including Tiktok and Instagram. Stacey was born and raised on the Gold Coast, Australia, and still resides in her hometown with her husband, two children and one questionable dog.

Jaymin Eve is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Amazon Charts, and Amazon #1 Bestselling author of fantasy and romance novels filled with steamy love stories, adventure, and humour. HEA guaranteed. She lives in Australia with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Her books have sold millions worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages.

Jodi McAlister is both an author and scholar of romance fiction. She’s written eight romance novels for adults and young adults, including her most recent novel An Academic Affair. In her other life, she’s a Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University and the President of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance.

Tania Joyce writes heart-wrenching rockstar, contemporary, and new adult romance stories. She threads romance, tears, and passion into wild locations that range from the dazzling lights of New York to the tempting vineyards of the Hunter Valley.
Traditionally published in 2015, Tania transitioned to self-publishing in 2017. Her two rockstar series have been Amazon bestsellers. She loves to write about strong-minded, career-driven heroes and heroines who embark on real, raw emotional journeys, experience steamy encounters, and risk everything as they strive to find their happily-ever-afters.
Widely travelled and with a diverse background in the corporate world, Tania also has a love for sparkles, shoes, and Shiraz. She’s proud to call Brisbane home.

USA Today Bestselling author Sofia Aves writes spicy romance from dark stalkers to jingle-your-Christmas-baubles heroes and heroines. She writes kidlit for charity and has over a hundred and fifty publications across six not-so-super-secret pen names. As acquisitions editor for Evernight and Evernight Teen Sofia loves discovering new talent in both romance and YA spaces (her favourite!). She is a mum of three neurodivergent crazies in a returned veteran household with a menagerie of two large fur babies who think they’re teacup puppies, a pair of ducks who prefer to eat from a dog bowl, a shrimp maternity tank, and two axolotls named after a dragon and a firebird. Sofia has her own alpaca park, Lorendel where she hermits and writes daily.

Co-authors, founders of Books on the Rail, professional Book Ninjas and best friends since they ditched play time for writing club in primary school.

Dr Melanie Sawardis a proud Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman, and a writer, editor, and academic. She lectures in the University of Queensland’s School of Communication and Arts and is the newly appointed Director of the Writing, Editing, and Publishing master’s program. Melanie is the author of Burn and Love Unleashed, and co-author (with Brooke Blurton) of A Good Kind of Trouble, with its sequel Making Trouble due in April 2026

Allison A.Andrews has always been an avid reader with an overactive imagination, and when she isn’t writing, she loves spending time with family and friends, travelling the world, and dreaming of the next story she can tell. Allison writes sweet, heartfelt contemporary romances filled with love, laughs, and plenty of swoon. Under the pen Antoinette W. May the author writes steamy, Australian based romances, featuring Alpha males and the women who bring them to their knees. Allison contributed to the Coming Home for Christmas Anthology.

Lauren Jackson is an Australian author and an avid reader. Her hobby of writing stories developed into a passion when she discovered an online writing website at age fourteen. Since 2012, she has garnered thousands of followers and millions of views on her stories, which have helped grow and develop her love of writing. Lauren loves to write steamy romances (with a little mystery) and is always writing a new book.

Lauren is a co- administrator and booktooker with Booktok Bookclub.

Bestselling romance author and CEO of Serenade Publishing, Sarah Williams spent her childhood chasing sheep, riding horses and picking Kiwi fruit on the family orchard in rural New Zealand. After a decade travelling, Sarah moved to Queensland, to raise a family and follow her passion for writing. She currently resides on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Australia. Her Australian rural romance series, Brigadier Station, has won the hearts of readers around the world. The audiobooks were narrated by Logie nominated actor Myles Pollard, best known for his role as Nick in McLeod’s Daughters.

As a publisher, podcaster and festival director, Sarah offers an intimate insight to book discovery trends.

Ky Garvey is a writer, podcaster and coffee/chocolate connoisseur. She hosts and creates the literary podcast Totally Lit, where she’s lucky enough to chat to Australian writers, illustrators and publishing professionals, learn all their writing secrets and then share them. She’s also a children’s author and a disability and carer advocate. Her first picture book Easy Peasy was released in February 2023 through publisher EK Books. She has won or been shortlisted in a number of writing awards including Hunter Writers Centre Grieve writing competition, Carers QLD writing competition and most recently The Logan Laureate. She also had the pleasure of being a judge for the Australian Podcast Awards, The Aurelius Awards and the Forevability Book Awards as well as being an award sponsor. Ky was recently included in the Courier Mail list of Brisbane’s 60 Most Inspirational Women 2025.

Kat T. Masen is a USA TODAY bestselling author from Sydney, Australia. She is the founder of the Books Ever After store, and spends way too much time on BookTok. She lives with her husband, four boys, and a needy pug. Find out more at KatTMasen.com.

Award-winning Australian romance author Ally Blake has sold over four million copies of her more than forty published novels, with each translated into multiple languages worldwide. A popular speaker, and ambassador for romantic literature and Australian voices, Ally is co-creator of the ‘game-changing’ www.HowtoWriteLove.com online course, has presented at writing conferences and literary festivals all around Australia, and is a regular speaker at the Queensland Writers Centre, as well as host of several Book Clubs for Brisbane Libraries. Follow Ally on social media @allyblakebooks and find her books at www.allyblake.com.

Louisa is a career counsellor and podcaster by day, and a former journalist, who loves to write romance set in an Aussie small town. She once wrote a short story to prove tractors are sexy, and it came second in the Spicy Bites competition with Romance Writers of Australia in 2022. Louisa’s novel, “Ignite” was pitched at Queensland Writers Centre’s Adaptable program and a finalist in the RWNZ Koru award. “Ignite” along with “Embers” were finalists in the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA) awards. Her short Christmas story “Chocolate and Orange” was published in the Sweet Treats ‘Chocolate’ anthology which won ARRA’s Members Choice award for Best Anthology. Louisa also writes as Sabrina Duval conjuring up witchy romance stories with a body count.