Dr Brendan Ritchie is a novelist and Creative Writing academic at Edith Cowan University. He is the author of three Young Adult novels, including the Dorothy Hewett Award winning Eta Draconis (2023). His research focuses on the exploration of bildungsroman narratives set within urgent contemporary contexts such as climate change, polycrisis and the marginalisation of the arts. In 2024, Brendan’s approach to university pedagogy was recognised by an Australian Award for University Teaching.