Vikki Conley’s multi-award-winning books whisk young readers away to other worlds through curiosity, playfulness and wonder. In 2023, Where The Lyrebird Lives won the CBCA Book of the Year, and Amira’s Suitcase and Little Puggle’s Song have earned Honour and Notable awards. On The Way To School was shortlisted for the 2023 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year.

An intrepid traveller and nature lover, Vikki has explored the world’s big adventures and tiny treasures as a writer and photographer, working with diverse communities in Africa, Asia and Australia for over 20 years.

Her stories connect budding minds to the experiences of people and creatures around the globe, inviting them to discover the magic in both the extraordinary and the ordinary. When she’s not writing, Vikki loves cartwheeling through the wilderness, searching for platypus or splashing in rivers near her home in Eltham, Australia.

Max Hamilton has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for the past 23 years. She studied fine art at COFA and went on to study Graphic Design and Illustration at Enmore Tafe under the guidance of amazing teachers such as Wayne Harris.

Wayne helped confirm that what she wanted to do with her life is to illustrate children's books. Max was awarded an illustrators residency at Pinerolo in November 2018, through WestWords and has published a couple of picture books for Windy Hollow.