2026 Festival Artists - Canberra Writer Festival 2026

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2026 Festival Writers

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Portrait of Jacinta Froud climbing through an abstract outdoor sculpture.

Jacinta Froud

Jacinta Froud has been writing stories and poems since she was knee high to a grasshopper. She is a teacher, book lover and Mum to three children, who love listening to her silly stories and provide constructive criticism when poked. Jacinta calls Canberra home with her husband and children, a boisterous beagle and some rogue chooks. She is the author of six rhyming picture books and the coordinator of the Canberra Bookshop Trail. Her latest book is Todzilla.

Studio portrait of Jack Heath smiling to the camera's left against a plain dark background.

Jack Heath

Jack Heath is the award-winning author of 49 books for adults and children including Kill Your Boss, I Know What You’re Hiding and 30 Minutes to Escape: Bullet Train. His novels have sold over a million copies in ten languages. He lives on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country.

Studio portrait of Jaclyn Moriarty seated with hands clasped against a dark background.

Jaclyn Moriarty

Jaclyn Moriarty is the best-selling, prize-winning author of books for children, young adults and (occasionally) grownups. A former media lawyer, Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, lived in the US, UK and Canada, and now lives in Sydney again. Her next book in the Kingdoms and Empires series (for children) is Astrid and the Accidental Slip between Worlds, out in November. Her latest novel (for grownups) is Time Travel for Beginners.

Outdoor portrait of Jacob K Gallagher wearing a beige beanie and standing in front of a wooden fence.

Jacob K Gallagher

Jacob K Gallagher is a proud Kamilaroi writer from Gunnedah who has been living in Canberra since 2010. He writes science fiction and fantasy stories while struggling to do meaningful poetry on the side. Jacob’s debut novel The Doubles came out in August 2026 and is a dark urban fantasy thriller set in regional New South Wales.

Portrait of Jacqueline De Rose-Ahern smiling at the camera with balloons in the background.

Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern

Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern is an international award-winning author and creative coach. Her titles include the Ariana Treasure junior fiction series and Meet Matilda at the Festival, part of the Penguin Random House Australia Aussie Kids series. Her picture books have won awards locally and in the US. Jacqueline received the 2017 Anne Edgeworth Fellowship from the ACT Writers Centre (renamed MARION). Jacqueline is passionate about nurturing lifelong readers, writers and creatives.

Studio portrait of James O'Loghlin smiling against a white background.

James O’Loghlin

James O’Loghlin is a broadcaster, comedian and author of 15 books, the most recent of which is The Missing Piece, about his attempts to help a dying friend campaign for financial support for Mr Fluffy asbestos victims. James has written two crime novels, Criminals and Liars, and the next, The Writers Room comes out in November 2026. James hosts Afternoons on ABC Local Radio in NSW, and the popular mental health podcast Minding Your Mind, with Prof Ian Hickie.

Interior portrait of James Saunders with a serious expression before a blurred window in the background.

James Saunders

James Saunders is a Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri storyteller. He focuses on reclaiming history through powerful narratives. He co-produced the highly acclaimed documentary Yurlu Country and has just finished his first book, Fighting for Country, which documents the remarkable legacy of his uncle, WWII hero Captain Reginald Saunders. James believes that capturing and sharing these vital stories is the ultimate first step toward Indigenous people owning their future.

Interior portrait of Jane Caro in a floral jacket with chin propped on hand.

Jane Caro

Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award winning columnist, author, novelist & social commentator. She appears on TV, including as a regular on Nine’s Today Extra, and writes often in SMH, Age & The Saturday Paper. She is on the board of the Public Education Foundation. She was awarded the B&T Women in Media Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. She’s written 14 books and one long form essay, Rich Kid, Poor Kid: The Battle for Public Education. Her two latest novels The Mother and Lyrebird are best sellers.

Jane Messer

Jane Messer is an esteemed writer of novels, short stories and essays. Her books include Raven Mother: War, Family and Inheritance and the novels Hopscotch, Provenance and Night by Night. Founder and director of StorySALOON, she champions Australian short stories through its live shows and podcast. Formerly Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Macquarie University, she now mentors writers and teaches manuscript development masterclasses. By day, she helps stories find their voice. After dark, she brings them to the stage.

Portrait of Jemima Parker smiling at the camera against a blurred background.

Jemima Parker

Jemima Parker is a Canberra-based author, textile artist and law graduate who loves telling stories. As a small child growing up on the far south coast of NSW, she loved to tinker on her parents’ old typewriter and read as many books as she could get her hands on. Jemima’s debut picture book was published in July 2026, and she has more on the way. She’s currently writing a contemporary fiction young adult novel. Her latest work is Poppy Makes Pockets.

Jennifer Evans

Dr Jenny Evans is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist, focused on conservation genetics and long-term studies of wild animal populations. She completed her PhD at the Australian National University, studying the consequences of inbreeding in two iconic Australian species, the superb fairy-wren and the endangered purple-crowned fairy-wren. Her passion for sharing the world of ecology and genetics has taken her on many adventures, including science festivals, podcast appearances, conference presentations, ecology and genetics workshops, and more.

Studio portrait of Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello holding a tall glass art vessel against a dark background.

Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello

Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM is an award-winning visual artist, poet and writer of Aboriginal (Lower Southern Arrernte), Chinese and Anglo-Celtic descent. She is an internationally recognized glass artist and her works are held in major collections across Australia and the world. Her poetry, prose and essays have been published nationally and overseas. One of her most recent collections is Shapeshifting, 2024. Jennifer’s prizes include the Banjo Paterson Poetry Prize and the Henry Lawson Short Story Prize. Jennifer lives and works on the unceded lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, Kamberri/Canberra.

Outdoor portrait of Jennifer Pinkerton, smiling, in a hot pink cardigan in a bush setting.

Jennifer Pinkerton

Jennifer Pinkerton is Executive Director of the Canberra Environment Centre, an environmental journalist, and author of Heartland: What’s the Future of Modern Love? Her writing has appeared in national newspapers and magazines, with a focus on people, place, and nature. She holds a Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Technology Sydney and her research explores how storytelling can deepen our connection with the natural world and inspire action on climate and environmental challenges.

Moody portrait of Jessica Alice with dark red lipstick and a black dress, standing before a stone wall.

Jessica Alice

Jessica Alice is a writer, poet and arts leader from Melbourne’s west. She is Artistic Director/CEO of Byron Writers Festival, Australia’s largest regional literary festival. Jessica is Chair of the National Young Writers Festival, and was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Writers SA, and Chair of the Arts Industry Council of South Australia.

Outdoor portrait of Jo White smiling at the camera with a grey striped wall in the background.

Jo White

Jo White has been the Executive Director of Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre located in Canberra since 1st November 2022. Jo is an accomplished and experienced science and people leader, with a strong track record of achievement across science, strategy, conservation, and environmental management. Jo has extensive public sector experience, operating at a senior level for more than 25 years. She is passionate about making a positive difference for future generations, and engaging children in STEM.

Outdoor portrait of Joan Beaumont, smiling, with blurred foliage in the background.

Joan Errington Beaumont

Joan Errington Beaumont is an Australian historian and professor emerita at the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, renowned for her work on the Australian experience of war, foreign policy, and war memory. Author of many works including Gull Force, she has won major awards such as the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History. Her new book is Challenging Anzac, which she jointly edited with Mia Martin Hobbs and Carolyn Holbrook.

Johanna Bell

Johanna Bell lives in Nipaluna (Hobart) where she writes fiction, poetry and children’s books. Her work is widely published and she has won a string of awards, including a 2025 Tasmanian Literary Award for her latest novel, Department of the Vanishing.

Portrait of John Morrissey standing in a bookshop, smiling at the camera.

John Morrissey

John Morrissey is a Melbourne writer of Kalkadoon descent. He was the winner of the 2020 Indigenous Writers Mentorship and runner-up for the Nakata Brophy Prize in 2018. John’s debut Firelight won an Aurealis Award and a Queensland Literary Award, and in 2024 he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist. Bird Deity is his first novel.

Jordan McSwiney

Dr Jordan McSwiney is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy, University of Canberra. He researches far-right politics in Australia, focusing on the organisation and communication of far-right political parties and movements. He is the author of Far-Right Political Parties in Australia: Disorganisation and Electoral Failure.

Jordan Prosser

Jordan Prosser is an author and screenwriter based in Naarm/Melbourne. He won the Peter Carey Short Story Award in 2022. His writing and cultural criticism has appeared in The Age, The Guardian, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings and Australian Book Review. His debut novel, Big Time, was shortlisted for the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year and the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, while the UK edition was longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. Blue Giant is his second novel.

Josh Niland leaning against a yellow window frame, looking pensive.

Josh Niland

Chef Josh Niland is a multi-award-winning chef and author. With his wife Julie, he owns the three-hatted Saint Peter, Fish Butchery and The Grand National Hotel by Saint Peter. They also partnered with The Sundays for Catseye Pool Club, on Hamilton Island. His books, The Whole Fish Cook Book, Take One Fish, Fish Butchery and Saint Peter: Chapter and Verse have won multiple awards, including the American James Beard overall Book of the Year, 2020.

Outdoor portrait of Joshua Black smiling in front of a green garden

Joshua Black

Joshua Black is Lecturer in Australian Political Studies at the Vice-Chancellor’s Centre of Public Ideas, University of Canberra. He worked as speechwriter for Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres following the 2025 federal election. Josh has been a Palace Letters Fellow at the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Australia Institute. His new book is Performance Politics: Australian politicians and the stories they tell.

Joshua Hortinela

Joshua Hortinela is a writer and bookseller who also works in social media marketing. A passionate reader, he has worked in the book industry for nearly ten years. When he’s not adding a ridiculous number of books to his staff holds at work, he can be found reading romance novels, rewatching 13 Going On 30 for the millionth time, or drinking a cosmopolitan. Hate You to Love You is his first novel.

Studio portrait of Judith Lucy against a mottled grey background.

Judith Lucy

Judith Lucy has written four books now (Jesus). She’s done a lot of stand-up and made some TV shows. Since her last book, Turns Out, I’m Fine, she’s toured another show with Denise Scott, Still Here along with Kaz and Jude’s Menopausal Night Out with Kaz Cooke, made the ABC podcast series Overwhelmed and Living, played Winnie in the MTC’s Happy Days, become a member of the Order of Australia and taken ayahuasca in the Amazon rainforest. Her latest book is Well Well Well…My wellness odyssey from psychics to psychedelics and beyond.

Julieanne Lamond leans against a brick wall smiling with her hands in her pockets.

Julieanne Lamond

Julieanne Lamond is a writer, critic and academic whose research focuses on Australian literature and its reception. She is currently Associate Professor of English and Head of the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics at ANU.

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