Geraint F. Lewis is a professor of astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, part of the University of Sydney's School of Physics. He has published more than 500 papers across cosmology, galactic archaeology, gravitational lensing and the fundamental nature of the universe, and four books of popular science, including The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook and Where Did the Universe Come From?

Ariane Beeston began dancing before she could reliably speak in two-word sentences. She trained to a pre-professional level in ballet and contemporary dance, performing with the Sydney City Youth Ballet and appearing in the English National Ballet's Australian performances of Swan Lake. After a detour into psychology and media, Ariane began teaching ballet to toddlers, pre-schoolers and beginner adults. Ariane's debut memoir, Because I'm Not Myself, You See, was shortlisted for the Matt …

Alice Pung OAM is an award-winning writer based in Melbourne. She is the bestselling author of the memoirs Unpolished Gem and Her Father’s Daughter, and the essay collection Close to Home, as well as the editor of the anthologies Growing Up Asian in Australia and My First Lesson. Her first novel, Laurinda, won the Ethel Turner Prize at the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. One …

Joanne Wallis is Professor of International Security and Director of the Stretton Institute Security in the Pacific Islands Research Program at Adelaide University, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution. She is the author or editor of eleven books, including Girt by Sea: Reimagining Australia’s Security, Constitution Making During State Building and Pacific Power? Australia’s Strategy in the Pacific Islands.

Jack Corbett is Professor and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Monash University. This is his twelfth book. Previous titles include Being Political: Leadership and Democracy in the Pacific Islands; Australia’s Foreign Aid Dilemma: Humanitarian Aspirations Confront Democratic Legitimacy; and Statehood À la Carte in the Caribbean and the Pacific: Secession, Regionalism and Postcolonial Politics.

Don Watson is the author of many acclaimed books, including Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Death Sentence, American Journeys, The Bush, Watsonia, The Story of Australia and The Passion of Private White, as well as three Quarterly Essays on American culture and politics. His latest book is The Shortest History of the United States of America.