Australian Reading Hour

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Peter Helliar has been one of Australia’s favourite comedians since his first appearance on our TV screens as a core cast member on the Logie Award winning Rove back in 1999.

Pete has performed stand up for more than twenty years, selling out shows right across the country, where he makes the difficult business of being funny look dead easy. Now the Gold Logie Nominee is making people laugh four nights a week on Network Ten’s The Project, the beloved show where the news is delivered differently.

A man of many talents, Peter created and co-produced two series of the award winning It’s A Date for ABC TV, and How to Stay Married for Network Ten which premiered in 2018 and is now currently filming its third season. He has directed episodes of both shows.

He is the author of the much loved children’s book series, Franky Fish which is published by Hardie Grant/Egmont. In 2018, Frankie Fish was voted one of Australia’s Top 50 kids books in the annual Better Reading Top 50 Kids Books poll and Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase was shortlisted for the ABIAs for Book of the Year for Younger Children in 2018. Pete’s new children’s book Trippin’ With Kids, co-authored with his wife Bridget Helliar, was released in 2020. Peter Helliar used to be Strauchanie and his French accent has not improved.

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Sally Rippin is Australia’s highest-selling female author and has written more than 50 books for children and young adults. Her widely popular Billie B Brown books are beloved across the globe, and have sold more than ten million copies in eighteen countries. She loves to write stories with heart and characters that resonate with children, parents and teachers alike.

​Sally is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre, was a regular presenter on 3RRR radio and is a popular speaker at schools and festivals. She taught Writing For Children as a part of the Professional Writing and Editing Program at RMIT as well as the Faber Academy and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators.

​Sally's most recent books include the School of Monsters series as well as her book for parents, called "Wild Things: How We Learn To Read And What Can Happen If We Don't".

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Gregg Dreise is a gifted artist, storyteller and musician, and he features the didgeridoo and guitar in his performances at schools, libraries and festivals. He is a descendant of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi people of south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales.

He is the author and illustrator of Cunning Crow; Silly Birds; Kookoo Kookaburra; Mad Magpie and My Culture and Me. All these stories are about teaching morals. They address self-image, friendship, kindness, bullying and Indigenous culture.

Gregg is also the illustrator of the classic story Tiddalik the Frog (Pearson Publishing) and has poetry with his illustrations in the anthology A Boat of Stars; and illustrations in High 5 to the Boys and contributions towards Why I Love Australia. He has a Children’s Music CD titled Sing. Dance. Walk Together.

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Chris Kennett - Born in Canterbury, England way back in the mid-70s I grew up in a very busy house. As the youngest of five kids, I would take every opportunity for some quiet time. For me, that came in the form of drawing.

I drew a LOT!

As a result, I'm quite skilled at shutting out the noise and getting on with the job. This comes in particularly handy when working from home and raising kids!

In 1998 I moved to Australia to live with my Aussie girlfriend (now wife) and we've since settled in the beautiful town of Bendigo, Victoria with our two kids and two cats.

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Shiloh Gordon has a passion for creating lively, engaging illustrations that are full of character and fun. He graduated with a BA in animation from the Queensland College of Art and has worked as a professional illustrator for over 20 years. His work has included illustrations for magazines, eBooks and educational materials. Shiloh lives in Brisbane with his wife and three kids, who are an endless source of fun and inspiration.

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Andrew McDonald is a reader and writer of books for young readers.

His series REAL PIGEONS debuted in 2018, with hilarious illustrations by Ben Wood.

His first children’s novel, The Greatest Blogger in the World featured the story of Charlie Ridge, a young blogger navigating family, friends and the perils of internet life. His second novel Son of Death, a black comedy about a family of modern grim reapers, was named by The Age as one of the ‘best books of the year’ in 2015.

He is also the creator of a blog post about ‘camera loss’ that somehow went viral and he wasn’t embarrassed enough to decline an invitation to be a Cleo Bachelor in 2011.

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Ben Wood is an illustrator for children’s books based in Victoria, Australia. Ben has illustrated picture books, junior fiction and non-fiction titles. He has worked with top publishers in Australia such as Hardie Grant Childrens Publishing, Scholastic, and Penguin Random House.

Ben’s work has had notable listings for the Children Book Council Australia, been shortlisted for Readings Children’s Book Prize, and shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2019 and 2020.

Best known as the co-creator of the bestselling series REAL PIGEONS by Andrew McDonald, the series has been published in 11+ countries. In 2020 the pigeons were released in Germany, US & Canada and in the UK in 2021.