Term 1 - Mark Greenwood
Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. He enjoys delving into baffling mysteries, searching for treasure and investigating unsolved cold cases. His award-winning books include the History Mysteries series, The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef, The Happiness Box and Jandamarra. Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce well-known titles such as Ned Kelly and the Green Sash, The Legend of Moondyne Joe, Simpson and His Donkey, Midnight: The story of a Light Horse, and the Our Country series: Ancient Wonders and Where History Happened. In 2025, Mark will celebrate the release of two new picture Books – Lucky’s Star and The Legend of Jesse Hickman, along with The Wonder Horse and The Deadly Diamond, the next two books in his History Hunter series.
Term 2 - Chenée Marrapodi
Chenée Marrapodi is a children’s author and journalist, based in Perth, Western Australia. Her middle grade novel, One Wrong Turn, was published by Fremantle Press in 2023. Its sequel Breaking Pointe was released mid 2024. Chenée is also an experienced MC, and the host of the Writers off the Page podcast.
Chenée has worked in the media industry for almost a decade and is currently a producer for Channel Nine News. She has also worked as a reporter for Channel Seven's Today Tonight, as well as online news and radio. As a journalist, Chenée travelled the State in search of the perfect story, meeting an assortment of fascinating characters along the way. Her work has featured on Channel Seven’s Today Tonight, Seven News, WAtoday.com.au, Radio 6PR and in Landscope Magazine. It has seen her win multiple awards, including Best New Journalist at the 2014 WA Media Awards. Outside of the media, Chenée has danced ballet and jazz her whole life, loving the stories that can be created through movement. She has now turned that passion into words, choreographing her way through the pages of One Wrong Turn. She is assisted in her work by her writing buddy, muse and pet dog, Taco. While rumours of Taco being a horse are greatly exaggerated, he is indeed a ginormous, loveable, Great Dane.
Term 3 - Ash Harrier
Ash Harrier is an author of dark academia and mystery novels. Ever since she was a child, she’s been wondering what lies beneath ... behind the veil, beyond the grave and beneath the ordinary. She also writes general fiction as Sasha Wasley and holds a PhD in feminist literature. Her books have been shortlisted for the Readings, WAYBRA and Davitt Awards. She lives in Western Australia and is the proud fur-parent to a dog, a cat, 3 hens, a frog, a rabbit and a wild quenda.
Term 4 - Brenton McKenna
Brenton McKenna is a respected Yawuru artist based out of Broome, WA, who is the first ever published Indigenous graphic novel author in Australia. In 2011 Magabala Books published Brenton’s first work – Ubby’s Underdogs: The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon. The Ubby’s brand has gone on to become an iconic three-part series and affirmed Brenton's place as an exciting voice in the Australian literary scene. Additional published works to date include notable Penguin and Allen & Unwin titles. Brenton also has a weekly comic strip in The West Australian called Old Champ.
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Term 1 - A.J. Betts
A.J. Betts is an award-winning author of young-adult novels with humour and heart. Her books are One Song (Pan Macmillan, 2023) the dystopian duology Hive and Rogue, as well as Zac & Mia, Wavelength, and Shutterspeed.
She's an acclaimed speaker and workshop facilitator, and holds a doctorate on the topic of Wonder. She loves visiting schools, libraries and festivals to talk about books, writing and the creative process.
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Term 2 - Kathryn Lefroy
Kathryn is an author and screenwriter who not-so-secretly wishes she lived in a dance movie. Her published novels include the Alex and the Alpacas series and most recently The Secret of the Stone. Her heartwarming family feature film, Whale Shark Jack, is filmed on location around WA. She's lived and worked at many places across the globe, including Melbourne, Dublin, London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, but she currently calls Fremantle home.
Term 3 - Presenter TBC
Term 4 - Brenton McKenna
Brenton McKenna is a respected Yawuru artist based out of Broome, WA, who is the first ever published Indigenous graphic novel author in Australia. In 2011 Magabala Books published Brenton’s first work – Ubby’s Underdogs: The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon. The Ubby’s brand has gone on to become an iconic three-part series and affirmed Brenton's place as an exciting voice in the Australian literary scene. Additional published works to date include notable Penguin and Allen & Unwin titles. Brenton also has a weekly comic strip in The West Australian called Old Champ.
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Term 1 - Madison Godfrey
Madison Godfrey is the author of poetry collections How To Be Held and Dress Rehearsals. Through their work as an educator and researcher, they are a passionate advocate for inclusive storytelling practices. Their publications include prose poems, non-fiction essays, experimental fiction, a verse novella in Avast and articles for The Guardian and Refinery29.
Term 2 - Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of more than twenty books for young people, including A Hunger of Thorns, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and was a CBCA Honour Book. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it. Her latest books are the Bravepaw series and Unhallowed Halls.
Term 3 - Karleah Olson
Karleah Olson is a Perth-based writer and avid reader, and loves to collect books – more than she could possibly read in a lifetime. Karleah has spent the last few years as a PhD candidate at Edith Cowan University, where she is studying Australian Coastal Gothic Literature. Her debut novel, A Wreck of Seabirds, was shortlisted for the 2023 Fogarty Literary Award and is a work of YA fiction inspired by the gothic genre and the West Australian coastal landscape.
Term 4 - Kate McCaffrey
Kate McCaffrey's YA novels include Destroying Avalon, In Ecstasy, Beautiful Monster, Crashing Down and Saving Jazz. She visits schools for book talks and seminars, and runs creative writing workshops
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Young Writers in the WA Regions
The WA Regions will not be missing out! Young Writers will be traveling to host schools in Albany, Busselton/Bunbury, and Geraldton. It's not too late, you can still enrol your student or child in the program for the regions.
Scroll down to read about our diverse range of presenters traveling to a host school near you.
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Term 1 - Sally Murphy
Sally Murphy’s life had been shaped by reading, writing and story. An award-winning author of verse novels, historical fiction, poetry and more, she is also an academic in teacher education at Curtin University, a proud mother, grandmother and pet companion. She strives to spread joy however she can. Sally has been The Chair of The Literature Centre Board since June 2024.
Term 2 - Aśka
A hugely engaging and popular presenter, Aśka (pronounced ‘Ash-ka’) is passionate about visual literacy. She has published more than a dozen books and comics, including the CBCA Notable and Stonewall Honor-winning Stars in Their Eyes, co-created with Jessica Walton. Aśka’s latest YA graphic novel is set for publication in 2026.
Aśka is a recipient of several government arts grants, prizes, and the May Gibbs Fellowship, and is the Programming Director for the Perth Comic Arts Festival. When not creating books, they travel across Australia, teaching drawing as a language to enthusiastic audiences of all ages.
Term 3 - Mabel Gibson
Mabel Gibson is a Yamatji woman living and writing in Boorloo. Her work has been published with Magabala books, Night Parrot Press and Centre for Stories and she has spoken at writers festivals across Australia. Her debut book Crybaby charts her growth and identity growing up First Nations in 21st century Australia.
Term 4 - TBC
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Term 1 - Kristy Nita Brown
Kristy Nita Brown is an author and creative entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling and education. She independently publishes her work, with her debut title Looking for Lily earning a spot on the 2023 shortlist for the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award and placing second in the 2022 Children and Young Adult Competition in the chapter book category. Her second book, Mavey and Beth’s Double Act: Where’s My Whistle?, was showcased at the 2024 Children's Book Council of Australia A Night With Our Stars event and featured at the 2024 Scribblers Festival. The sequel, Mavey and Beth’s Double Act: The Hole Truth, won first place in the 2025 Children and Young Adult Competition in the published category. Kristy also won the 2025 Love to Read Local Month Children’s Writer-in-Residency with the KSP Writers’ Centre, the Copyright Agency and Writing WA for an unpublished middle-grade manuscript.
Term 2 - Kate Emery
Kate Emery is a YA author (and journalist) from Perth, Western Australia. She likes to write books with banter where people either die or are in serious danger of dying. She has written two cosy murder mysteries about teenage detectives and a YA fantasy novel, The Not So Chosen One. Her first murder mystery, My Family and Other Suspects won the 2025 ABIA for 13+ readers, the YA category at the Indie Book Awards and was a CBCA notable book. Her second murder mystery book, A Murder is going Down was published in 2025.
Term 3 - Bianca Breen
Bianca Breen is a professional book nerd. Bianca is passionate about the book community, founding YA for WA in 2021 and previously holding the position of Communications Director at the Australian Young Adult Literature Alliance (#LoveOzYA) and co-host of The YA Room. In 2021 she was the winner of the ASA Award Mentorship, and has won several residencies, including with KSP Writers’ Centre, Vancouver Arts Centre, and the City of Swan. Her short works have been published with Dragon Soul Press, Night Parrot Press, and her debut novel Made of Steam and Stardust was released in 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Writing from La Trobe University.
Term 4 - Aśka
A hugely engaging and popular presenter, Aśka (pronounced ‘Ash-ka’) is passionate about visual literacy. She has published more than a dozen books and comics, including the CBCA Notable and Stonewall Honor-winning Stars in Their Eyes, co-created with Jessica Walton. Aśka’s latest YA graphic novel is set for publication in 2026.
Aśka is a recipient of several government arts grants, prizes, and the May Gibbs Fellowship, and is the Programming Director for the Perth Comic Arts Festival. When not creating books, they travel across Australia, teaching drawing as a language to enthusiastic audiences of all ages.
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Term 1 - Fionna Cosgrove
Fionna Cosgrove is the writer of the spooky four book middle grade interactive series, Twisted Tales as well as the spooky mystery Sadie and the Secret of the Swamp. She grew up with the TV always on The Twilight Zone and Are You Afraid of the Dark, and devoured books with supernatural twists and paranormal settings; a favourite genre still to this day.
Term 2 - Mark Greenwood
Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. He enjoys delving into baffling mysteries, searching for treasure and investigating unsolved cold cases. His award-winning books include the History Mysteries series, The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef, The Happiness Box and Jandamarra. Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce well-known titles such as Ned Kelly and the Green Sash, The Legend of Moondyne Joe, Simpson and His Donkey, Midnight: The story of a Light Horse, and the Our Country series: Ancient Wonders and Where History Happened. In 2025, Mark will celebrate the release of two new picture Books – Lucky’s Star and The Legend of Jesse Hickman, along with The Wonder Horse and The Deadly Diamond, the next two books in his History Hunter series.
Term 3 - Kate Emery
Kate Emery is a YA author (and journalist) from Perth, Western Australia. She likes to write books with banter where people either die or are in serious danger of dying. She has written two cosy murder mysteries about teenage detectives and a YA fantasy novel, The Not So Chosen One. Her first murder mystery, My Family and Other Suspects won the 2025 ABIA for 13+ readers, the YA category at the Indie Book Awards and was a CBCA notable book. Her second murder mystery book, A Murder is going Down was published in 2025.
Term 4 - TBC