Authors: S-V

Moya Sayer-Jones
Moya Sayer-Jones is a seriously comic writer. She wrote her first novel, the bestseller Little Sister in 1988. (Republished in a new edition in March 2005.) Little Sister was followed in 1996 by a collection of short stories, Mouth to Mouth. In between Moya has made fun writing and performing across genres: in television, film, radio and print. Her sassy Modern Guru column in the Good Weekend magazine (The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age) is now in its fourth year and her latest adult novel, Love Rat was published by Penguin in 2004. ('Sayer-Jones creates characters who are quirky, charming and human...accessible fiction of the best kind...'SMH) Moya's first young adult novel Who Loves Lucy was published by Penguin in May 2005. Visit Moya's website: bighead.com.au

Andy Shea
Andy is a former London police officer turned journalist and writer. He has worked as a reporter and editor on some of the world's major newspapers and magazines. He is the author of the acclaimed psychological thriller, The Disciples, and Touched by the Devil: Inside the mind of the Australian psychopath. His next novel, The Chance, is set to be published in November 2002.
andyshea.com

Ruth Simons
A psychotherapist and Registered Clinical Psychologist of 25 years' private practice experience, Ruth Simons conducts workshops and sees specific clients in Sydney and on the Gold Coast. Prior to setting up her practice, she worked for a private psychiatric hospital in Sydney for a 10-year period and has been a lecturer at Queensland TAFE, Bond University and Griffith University; she currently lectures for the nursing faculty at the Gold Coast hospital. As well as regular therapy work, Ruth has written a weekly newspaper column, Sex Lies and Relationships, for the last 7 years and regularly appears on radio and a s a guest speaker and lecturer. Her book, Sex, Lies & Relationships, a manual of real-life problems and practical solutions, is published by New Holland (2006).

Charmaine Solomon
Charmaine is an international cookery writer whose books have won her popular acclaim in many parts of the world. She has written over twelve cookbooks, including the classic Complete Asian Cookbook, which has sold worldwide over 400,000 copies in four languages.

Lily Sommers (Kate Dobbie)

Marea Stenmark
Marea is a high profile public relations consultant, respected author and gifted speaker. In 1991 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for 'Services to children with hearing and visual impairments'. She is the author of many non-fiction books including Mum's the Word, Dad's the Answer, Here's to Aunts, The Creative Communicator, An Unselfish Life and a biography of Sir David Martin.

Eugenia Tsoulis
Eugenia is an Australian of Greek heritage who has combined her knowledge of migrant experiences with her own experience of Australian arts and poloitical communities to create a compelling story in her first published novel, Between the Ceiling and the Sky.


Jacinta Tynan
Jacinta Tynan is a journalist, author and columnist. She’s been a news presenter for Sky News Australia since 2005. She also writes a popular weekly column for Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper about life and love. Before that she worked at ABC TV presenting and reporting for ABC news and reporting for the 7:30 Report, most recently producing and presenting ABC Asia Pacific News to 28 countries.  Her first book, Good Man Hunting (Random House, September 2005) received critical acclaim and was also published in France and South Korea. Her second book, Some Girls Do. My Life as a Teenager (Allen and Unwin, April 2007) is an anthology of top female authors writing the true story of their adolescence with royalties donated to SISTER2Sister – a mentor program for disadvantaged teenage girls. Jacinta is Ambassador for SISTER2Sister and was a Big Sister in the 2006 program.

Jacinta is also a keen actor studying at Vancouver Film School and acting in various short films and on stage including The Vagina Monologues at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre. Visit her website at jacintatynan.com

Terry Underwood
Terry, a modern pioneer cattlewoman, published her overnight bestselling autobiography, In the Middle of Nowhere in 1998, and its stunning photographic sequel, Riveren - My Home - Our Country, in 2000. Terry's books and photography, and her many speaking engagements, have helped convey a sense of what is so special about the Northern Territory, the Australian outback and its people, to a much wider audience. As Ambassador for ‘Year of the Outback’, she founded and coordinated a major fund-raising exercise for the Katherine Icon - the stockman's tribute. This one and a half times larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of a stockman on horseback, by outback sculptor Archie St Clair, is a lasting tribute to the pioneers of the pastoral industry. Terry is also known for her charitable works, especially for St Vincents Hospital, Sydney, for which she has commissioned and co-ordinated an upcoming book of its history. In the Middle of Nowhere became an Australian Classic in 2006. Visit Terry's website at: terryunderwood.com

Annebelle van Tongeren
Annebelle studied fashion design at RMIT in Melbourne before embarking on a career in television. She has spent twenty years costuming and as the senior stylist on programs such as Australian Idol and Big Brother, and for events such as Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival, the Logies and the Aria's. Her design work has been published in marie claire, Vogue and OK! magazine, as well as the national weeklies. She was the only makeup and wardrobe designer featured in the Australian Film Commission's 2006 book Look at Me! Behind the Scenes of Australian TV with the Women Who Made IT.

Anthony Venn-Brown
Anthony’s life has been unique. For 14 years, he was a leading evangelist for the Assemblies of God and preached regularly to audiences of up to 5,000 in Australia and overseas. Even though he was passionate about what he did there was a part of him that lived in constant conflict. In 1991, he was faced with the toughest decision of his life. Live a lie and maintain the façade or be true to himself and lose everything he had worked for and held dear.

His award winning autobiography, A Life of Unlearning: Coming Out of the Church, One Man’s Struggle details his triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds and achieving a place of resolution and power. Ultimately, it’s a story of living a life of authenticity and integrity. Anthony is one of Australia’s leading life coaches and is accredited with the International Coaching Federation. To contact Anthony please visit anthonyvennbrown.com or email anthony.venn-brown@psalifecoaching.com