The Incredible Freedom Machines

Kirli Saunders

Kirli Saunders is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning international writer of poetry, plays and picture books. She is a teacher, cultural consultant and artist. In 2020, Kirli was named the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year. Her books include celebrated The Incredible Freedom Machines (Scholastic 2018), Kindred (Magabala 2019), and Bindi (Magabala 2020). Her poetry and prose can also be found in Fire Front (UQP), Animals Make Us Human (Penguin) and Guwayu (Magabala).

Photo by Salty Dingo Media, courtesy of Magabala Books

Matt Ottley

Matt Ottley is a multi-modal artist working across the fields of visual arts, music and literature. He is an award-winning picture book writer and illustrator, with 25 picture books published. He spent his childhood in Papua New Guinea, and has travelled widely throughout Australia and the world. As a teenager and during his early twenties he worked as a stockman on remote cattle stations in the Australian outback, before studying fine arts and music. He lived for three years in Britain working as an equestrian painter, painting some of Britain’s finest racehorses and polo ponies.

He is now one of Australia’s most popular children’s author/illustrators, and has been published in several different languages around the world. His book and musical work for young adults, Requiem for a Beast was awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year in 2008, and the Queensland Premier’s Award for Young Adult Literature in the same year. His picture book, What Faust Saw was an international best seller. Matt has also worked as a professional flamenco and classical guitarist. He is currently working on two large-scale orchestral projects that will also have visual and literature components.

Photo © Tina Wilson, courtesy of Penguin Random House