The Bugalugs Bum Thief

Tim Winton is the acclaimed and award-winning Australian author of more than 30 books for adults and children, including two Booker Prize–shortlisted novels Dirt Music and The Riders. His work has been translated into more than 24 languages and adapted for film, television, stage and radio. He has won the Miles Franklin Award a record four times: for Shallows (1984), Cloudstreet (1992), Dirt Music (2002) and Breath (2009). The Turning also won the 2005 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction while Cloudstreet regularly appears in lists of Australia's best-loved novels. His latest novel is Juice (2024). Winton has been named as a National Living Treasure by the Australian National Trust and awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government for services to literature and the community. Winton was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for ‘distinguished service to literature as an author and novelist, to conservation, and to environmental advocacy’. Winton is patron of the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers sponsored by the City of Subiaco, Western Australia and is the patron of two environmental advocacy organisations: the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Stop the Toad Foundation. He lives in Western Australia.

Shane Jacobson is a multi-award winning actor and entertainer who has worked in film, television, theatre and radio for over 30 years with some of the biggest names in the business, including Geoffrey Rush, Jeremy Clarkson, Bryan Brown and Hugo Weaving. His notable credits include The Bourne Legacy, Charlie & Boots with Paul Hogan, Jack Irish with Guy Pearce, the hit family film Oddball, The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet and his Helpmann award-winning performance in the theatrical classic Guys and Dolls.