Please note: this session will be held at the State Library of Victoria

About Jenny Hocking

Professor Jenny Hocking is an award-winning biographer, scholar and political commentator. She is the inaugural Distinguished Whitlam Fellow with the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University and Emeritus Professor at Monash University. Jenny is the author of the acclaimed two-volume biography of Gough Whitlam, Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History (2008) and Gough Whitlam: His Time (2012), winner of the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Barbara Ramsden Award and shortlisted for several major literary awards including the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, the National Biography Award, The Age Book of the Year and the Magarey Medal for Biography and long-listed for the Walkley Non-fiction Book Award.

About Michelle Scott Tucker

Michelle Scott Tucker is the author of Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World - a fascinating biography of the woman who established the Australian wool industry (although her husband received all the credit).

In 2018 Michelle was appointed as the Executive Director of The Stella Prize, Australia's pre-eminent literary prize for women writers. Prior to joining Stella, she had a successful career in business and government. Michelle is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts (English and History). Passionate about Australian women’s history, literature and storytelling, Michelle is also the past Vice Chair of the Board of Writers Victoria. Michelle lives with her family and too many pets in the Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne.

About Loretta Smith

Loretta Smith has followed many career paths including teacher, youth arts worker, research consultant and case manager as well as other jobs she’d rather forget. She is also an accomplished musician, author, ‘book coach’, environmental activist, feisty feminist, dog lover, and avid reader with a penchant for writing. Her first biography is A Spanner in the Works: The extraordinary story of Alice Anderson and Australia’s first all-girl garage (Hachette, 2019).