A Morning of Stories

Aura Parker is a best-selling Australian children’s book author and illustrator with a distinctive voice in words and pictures. Her work is expressive, detailed, inspired by nature and filled with pattern and colour. Her upcoming picture book, Wolf Baby, due for release in November 2027 is a story of love overcoming fear, woven with fairy tale references. Aura is the creator of the Bowerbird Blues series including Bowerbird Brood, Bowerbird Bloom and Bowerbird Brave. Bowerbird Blues, a story of longing, searching and love was chosen for ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime in 2024 and read by 2.3 million people at the same time, inspiring a wave of blue children’s art and craft. Aura is passionate about children’s literacy, the environment and encouraging children to be creative and brave. She works from her studio in Sydney and illustrates her picture books in watercolour, pen and coloured pencil using traditional and digital mediums.

Kate Simpson is an engineer and acclaimed children’s author who loves fact and fiction in equal measure. Raised on a diet of classic children’s fiction, it was Kate’s fascination with science that led to her first career as a chemical engineer. Kate rediscovered her love of picture books after the birth of her children and now juggles a full-time job in the water industry with her writing. Her books feature science, history, curious kids and passionate women. Kate’s latest picture book, Tiki and Jill and the Great Australian Camel Race, illustrated by Craig Smith and co-written with Dr Jill Colwell, tells the amazing true story of a camel called Tiki, his rider, Jill, and the extraordinary endurance race that captured the imagination of Australia.

Jennie Orchard has been involved with the world of books and publishing for more than four decades, initially in London, later in Australia and Asia (Japan and Hong Kong). Since 2002, she has been actively involved in the non-profit sector, with a particular focus on Room to Read and more recently U-GO. In 2023 Jennie became an inaugural member of U-GO’s Australian board.

Jennie has curated two anthologies, The Gifts of Reading (released by W + N in 2020) and The Gifts of Reading for the Next Generation (Scribe, 2025) inspired by Robert Macfarlane, with essays contributed by many local and international literary luminaries including William Boyd, Shankari Chandran, Roddy Doyle, Colum McCann, Jan Morris, Michael Ondaatje, Alice Pung, Madeleine Thien and Markus Zusak. All of the contributing authors have generously agreed to donate their royalties to Room to Read and U-GO.

Clayton Zane Comber is the author of 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze, published by HarperCollins in 2021 and shortlisted for the 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. His latest series is The Marvellous Submarine and Gimme Some Space. Clay has been a speaker and workshop leader for writers’ festivals and schools all around Australia. In 2018, he graduated from Oxford University with distinction for his Masters in Creative Writing. In addition to writing, Clay is also a DJ.

Conor McCammon is the co-creator of The Marvellous Submarine and Gimme Some Space. He has been writing stories for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Werri Beach surrounded by family, cats and a whole lot of books. Conor attended the University of Wollongong, where he graduated with First Class Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He currently works in state politics as a policy advisor.