Vivienne Cleven was born in 1968 in Surat and grew up in western Queensland, homeland of her Aboriginal heritage. She left school at thirteen to work with her father as a jillaroo: building fences, mustering cattle, and working at various jobs on stations throughout Queensland and New South Wales. In 2000, Vivienne's manuscript Bitin' Back won the David Unaipon Award. She has published articles and fiction in anthologies, magazines and journals. Her second novel was Her Sister' s Eye. Vivienne lives in the bush, is studying her PhD and is working on her latest novel. Melissa Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author of Bundjalung and European heritage. Her first novel was published in 1997 and since then her work has received acclaim in many literary awards.

Her sixth novel, Too Much Lip, won the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Queensland Premier' s Award for a work of State Significance. It was also shortlisted for eight more Australian literary awards including the Prime Minister' s Literary Award for Fiction and the Stella Prize. She writes about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead. Her latest novel is Edenglassie.