Rowan of the Bukshah

Emily Rodda's first book, Something Special, was published in 1984. It marked the beginning of a career that has seen her become one of the most successful, prolific and versatile writers in Australia. Since then, Emily has written or co-authored more than 90 books for children. Her children's books range from picture books to YA novels, and include the award-winning Rowan of Rin series as well as the outstandingly successful Deltora Quest fantasy series. A full-time author since 1994, Emily has won the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year award a record five times and seems to instinctively know what children want to read. A former editor of The Women's Weekly, Emily is also the bestselling author of adult mysteries under her own name of Jennifer Rowe.

After studying at NIDA, Rachael Blake worked on Australian television shows Home And Away, Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High. In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside. She starred in the film Lantana with Anthony LaPaglia, and portrayed Hazel Hawke in the telemovie Hawke.