Local Authors and Illustrators

Karen Angel has been a Mental Health Clinician and Play Therapist for 40 years. She has just written her first book on childhood anxiety. Wilbur’s Worry Clouds includes a story about a young boy who, with the help of family and friends, discovers new ways to manage his anxiety. It also includes over 70 pages of therapeutic evidence-based activities for children. The book is suitable for ages 5-12 and great for parents, teachers, counsellors and therapists.

Her children’s books focus on environmentalism, natural disasters and the importance of looking after our ecosystems. They are dotted with fun facts and humour, which makes them not only educational but engaging to young readers. The books are filled with adorable characters, to convey themes of teamwork, family, diversity and cooperation. Sue enjoys the great outdoors, is a regular at the local waterways on her SUP-Stand Up Paddle Board.

Emma lives on a picturesque farm with her family. Her debut picture book, “Is this your egg?”, written by Ella Kris, was selected for the First 5 Forever Stories for Little Queenslanders series and went on to win a national award in 2021 – Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year. Emma also illustrated “Wombat & Joey Roo”, written by Robert Vescio and published by Wild Eyed Press in 2021. Emma has also worked as a part time Library Officer for Ipswich Libraries for over 14 years.

His novels include the Kirkus Prize-nominated Killing Adonis, gothic mystery Lenore’s Last Funeral and the surreal thriller Rumors of Her Death. His children’s poetry collection 19 Spells Disguised As Poems has been described as ‘the worst recipe book of all time’. He’s also written for theatre, podcasts, and video games and is currently working on multiple film scripts. He lives in Meanjin (Brisbane) with his wife, two children, and the unnameable eldritch horror in the garage.

Now settled on the Sunshine Coast, she draws inspiration from her Australian Brumby and the adventures they shared. Leisa writes heartwarming stories with anthropomorphic characters, weaving in gentle themes of mindfulness to help children navigate the challenges of modern life. Her tales celebrate imagination, friendship, and self-discovery, offering young readers relatable characters and meaningful messages in an engaging way.

Drawing on decades of lived experience and professional expertise, Bernie empowers women to heal childhood trauma, break free from people-pleasing, and reclaim their self-worth. She is the author of “HEAL: How to overcome bullying, burnout, abuse and neglect, one step at a time,” the “Self-Love Affirmations for Women” Kindle book, and Gratitude and Grief Journals, all gently guiding readers from the Fawn trauma response to embracing their Inner Sovereign.

Lawrey challenges himself to construct stories from extremely complex subject matter with multi-layered themes, simplifying it with thought-provoking perspectives for middle grade readers. With a BA in Psychological Science and intrigue for the avenues of physics and quantum mechanics, Lawrey strives to deliver compelling stories that will leave audiences stimulated.

The Bush Wanderers series centres around funny, imaginative stories about Australian bush animals and their quirky adventures. Inspired by the Aussie bush, Vera brings each story to life with vibrant hand-drawn illustrations and playful made-up worlds for early readers. The stories centre on Gigglefeather the Kookaburra and her friends and their light-hearted adventures in Blue Gum Valley. Written and illustrated for children aged 4-8.

Born and raised in the Ipswich area, I started writing as a young teen, but I put aside my half-completed work after meeting my partner and devoting myself to study, work, and raising children. After a 15-year break, my urge to write was as strong as ever, so I revived my original stories. My life experiences meant I could add more nuance to my characters and flesh out the original plotlines. These stories help quantify how I’ve grown as a writer and a person. Epic tales abound, come with me.

Natalya (Tali) was born in Victoria and moved to the warmer state – Brisbane. Since she was a tiny tot she loved animals – sitting either beside or in her pets’ beds talking to them – and this has not changed. For over 10 years she has been wanting to write a children’s book inspired by her family’s pets and their distinctive characters and adventures. With a pet nearby, walking over the keyboard or sunning themselves, Tali wrote this book with her pets present and past.

Now retired and living in Ipswich, she has taught in Primary Schools and Secondary Schools, and in TAFE Colleges. She has worked for government agencies and private training providers, where she has conducted career planning and personal development programs, counselling, and staff training. She is also a Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner and has used her knowledge of personality type in all aspects of her working and private life, inspiring her to write her book.

Her debut story, written alongside her sister, Camryn (C.P. Smith), “Flintessa Flammabelle and the Glowroot Grove” is the first adventure in The Flintessa Chronicles. A children’s chapter book series about a young fire fairy, filled with warmth, courage, discovery and elemental magic, that encourages young readers to believe in the extraordinary. When Jaimee’s head isn’t in a book, you can find her spending quality time with her husband and young daughter.

Her debut story, written alongside her sister, Jaimee (J.C. Mitchell), “Flintessa Flammabelle and the Glowroot Grove”, is the first adventure in The Flintessa Chronicles. A children’s chapter book series about a young fire fairy, filled with warmth, courage, discovery and elemental magic that encourages young readers to believe in the extraordinary. When Camryn’s head isn’t in a book, you can probably find her sipping coffee, or at the athletics track training for her next Olympic Games team.

Hello, Thank you for your interest in discovering who Safi Okanya is

An exceptional woman born in the DR Congo, a refugee, and single mother of two boys. Ms Okanya not only supported her education from the age of 12 using her own creativity, but she also was an actress at 11 years old and got an award as a teenage public speaker. Okanya worked as a youth counsellor and trainer for years at IRC. Now she is an author who believes that every life has a mission no matter what happened to you.

Sandhya resides in Brisbane with her husband, three children and a backyard brimming with mango trees, curry leaves and green chillies.

Writing a book is so much more than fulfilling a dream; it is a legacy, and being born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), then living in New Zealand and now, Australia, I am truly blessed to have had such a cosmopolitan environment in which to broaden my horizons. I am blessed with grandchildren and still have a passion for writing, editing and helping other authors bring to light their own writing ambitions.

Pamela Rushby has worked in advertising, as a teacher, and as a writer and producer of educational television, audio and multi-media. She currently freelances as a writer and loves delving into history to find her stories. She frequently shares these stories with both adult and student audiences. Her books and films have won many awards (which she is far too modest to list).

Katie Sampias is a wife and mother of three living in Springfield. She loves writing historical fiction, fantasy and reflection pieces to make sense of the world. Her book, Her Story of Jesus, is a historical fictional retelling of the Gospels through the eyes of women.

In whatever spare time he has from his full-time job as a Technical Services Officer for a defence maintenance contractor,  Cam enjoys writing, watching Formula One, MotoGP, and is a lifelong Manchester United supporter. Cam currently lives in the suburbs of Brisbane and is married to Sarah. He has two daughters, Georgia and Olivia, two step-sons, Ryan and Luke, and owns an Eclectus Parrot called Rosie. He is also a dog-father to a Great Dane called Queenie, and a Rhodesian Ridgeback called Roxy.

Jack Sim was born and grew up in Brisbane in the late 20th century and from an early age was fascinated with “dark history” – accidents, tragedies, war, mysteries, ghosts and hauntings, crime, murder, prisons and asylums. He collects unusual aspects of the past – and owns a vintage 1939 Studebaker President hearse. Through Historic Australia Jack undertakes history, cemetery, ghost and crime tours & experiences. Jack started Brisbane Ghost Tours in 1998 & for 10 years he operated Boggo Road Gaol.

She also works as an animator and character designer but has been called away from this affair as her relationship with children’s books grows more serious. Born and raised in Turkiye, she moved to Australia in 2011 and has been adjusting to the local eight-legged house intruders ever since. She lives in Springfield, where she and her husband “play Children’s Booksmithing” for self-publishers at Tadaa Book—at least when they’re not playing hide-and-seek with their two little daughters.

This children’s picture book celebrates Rosewood’s historical past and present, prehistoric history, including the surrounding areas of Marburg, Grandchester and Ipswich. Karen is a keynote speaker, writing workshop facilitator and author, presenting reader’s theatre with costumes, puppets and FUN. Karen and husband Steve perform FUN storytelling sessions, and creative writing workshops at schools, libraries, writing camps, bookshops and festivals throughout Queensland.