The Secret River

Kate Grenville is one of Australia's finest writers. Her early works have become modern classics and are admired by critics and readers around the world. Her 1992 novel, The Idea of Perfection, was a bestseller and winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, Britain's most valuable literary award. In 2006 Kate Grenville was awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the NSW Premier's Literary Award for The Secret River, and the novel was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Kate lives in Sydney with her family. Grenville's A Room Made of Leaves won the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction at the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.

Paul Blackwell is a well-known Australian stage actor and occasional film actor. He has appeared in many productions from some of Australia's best-known theatre companies, including Company B, Sydney Theatre Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Patch Theatre and Opera Australia. He has appeared in several films, though often in small parts. His recent film appearances include Candy, December Boys, Hey Hey its Esther Blueburger and the silent film Dr. Plonk.