Serpent of the Sands

Vashti Hardy is a writer of children's books living near Brighton in Sussex with her husband and three teens. She was a primary school teacher for several years, and has a special interest in children’s writing, especially free-writing and the use of journals and creating fantasy worlds. She has a first-class honours teaching degree with English specialism and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Chichester. After leaving teaching to focus more on her writing, she became a copywriter and digital marketing executive. Vashti is an alumni member and writing buddy of The Golden Egg Academy and is represented by Kate Shaw of The Viney Shaw Agency, and her books BRIGHTSTORM and WILDSPARK are published in the UK by Scholastic.

Claire is a Melbourne-based actor and singer with a history of work dedicated to the performing arts and musical theatre spaces. A graduate of the University of Melbourne and Victorian College of Fine Arts, she has previously starred in Complete Work’s 2022 productions of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. She has narrated titles such as Nicola Moriarty's Every Last Suspect and The Engraver's Secret by Lisa Medved.