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.
Samuel Johnson is a highly regarded and well-respected Australian actor, radio presenter and voice-over artist. Best known for his award-winning roles as Evan Wylde in the highly successful television series, The Secret Life of Us and Ian 'Molly' Meldrum in Molly, his other television appearances include leading roles in After the Deluge, Rush and Underbelly. He has also appeared in numerous Australian films including Crackerjack, The Illustrated Family Doctor and The House of Names. Samuel lives in Melbourne.