Young Adult Fiction

With a fan base far beyond that of its ‘young’ descriptor, Young Adult fiction is a not-so-guilty pleasure of readers of all ages – and Australian authors are producing some of the best work in the business. Come and hear from some of the newest voices adding shine to the golden age of YA, including Alison Whittaker, Emily Gale, Jessie Perrin and Marlee Jane Ward.
Featuring

Alison Whittaker is a Gomeroi multitasker. Between 2017–2018, she was a Fulbright scholar at Harvard Law School, where she was named the Dean’s Scholar in Race, Gender and Criminal Law. Alison is a Senior Researcher at the Jumbunna Institute at UTS. Her debut poetry collection, Lemons in the Ch... Read more

Marlee Jane Ward is a writer, reader and weirdo living in Melbourne. She grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales and studied Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong. In 2014 she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, Washington. You can find her short stories in th... Read more

Emily Gale has been involved in the children’s book industry for nearly 20 years and has worked as an editor, reviewer, talent finder and literary award judge. She spent several happy years at independent bookshop Readings as a children’s book buyer, during which time she was instru... Read more

Jessie Perrin is a University of Melbourne Arts graduate who has studied literature and taught English in Austin, Buenos Aires and Melbourne. She currently writes for Asylum Insight and works with Melbourne Free University to run courses and lectures around Melbourne. She’s recently started trying... Read more
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