Journalism

Jodie McLeod is a writer and award-winning children's author/publisher at Wollemi Press. Wollemi Press is an independent children’s publishing imprint based in the Blue Mountains, Australia, and was established by Jodie in 2022 as the umbrella imprint for her three children's books, all illustrated by local artist Eloise Short: *** The Black Cockatoo With One Feather Blue (2024 CBCA Notable Picture Book, 2024 Whitley Award – Best Children’s Book, RZSNSW, Shortlisted REAL Award: Picture Book [YABBA/KOALA/CROC Awards] 2024) *** Leonard the Lyrebird (2018) (Whitley Award – Best Children’s Book 2019, RZSNSW; Shortlisted REAL Award: Picture Book [YABBA/KOALA/CROC Awards] 2019), and its follow-up: *** Lilah the Lyrebird (2022) The MO of Wollemi Press is to publish 'stories worth sharing' – stories that, because of whatever it is that makes them special – be it their sense of fun, their characters or their beautiful message – simply refuse to be untold. Jodie is an experienced speaker at schools and festivals, whether for author visits or creative writing workshops, and works regularly with writing organisation Westwords. Along with her work as a children's author Jodie also offers copywriting services, having worked with a big list of agencies and clients. She's also worked for many years in magazine publishing, editing and feature writing, with an Honours degree in Creative Writing (UOW). When she's not writing, you might find Jodie running the trails of the Blue Mountains where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

Jacqueline Forster is a journalist/writer/publisher contributing to national lifestyle publications in Australia and New Zealand. She is working on her first non-fiction book, The Other Woman, which examines the extraordinary side hustles, hobbies, and passion projects of ordinary women.

Seed is a new generation of communications and PR consultancy. Ethical, socially sensitive and aware, we develop strategic communication and PR programs that support conscious leadership and help drive positive social and environmental impact. We are passionate about what we do which ensures our campaigns are creative and compelling, connect with audiences and create discussion. At Seed, we believe purposeful organisations deserve to get their message out there and be heard, to help this we work with realistic budgets, giving you the opportunity to gain exposure.

Belle Butler is a writer, a musician and project photographer. Her fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals and her novel manuscript, 'River', has received a number of awards. She was most recently awarded the WestWords Emerging Writers Fellowship for 'River' and was paired with mentor Delia Falconer. She is also a writer for the Blue Mountains based Planetary Health Initiative. In the music department, Belle has released two singles: 'I Am She' and 'Quick.' 'I Am She' was her response to personal and witnessed misogyny and gender-based violence and abuse. 'Quick', while less confronting, was no less personal. 'Quick' is about change, and the loss, grief, nostalgia, resistance and acceptance that comes with it. Belle often plays with photography to compliment her written and musical projects. She received a grant from The Seed to create a photo-narrative, 'Intersections,' about Sydney's street corner windscreen washers. Most recently, she created a stop motion video out of leaves to go with her single, 'Quick.'

Caro's been in the business of creating content since well before content creation was even a phrase. Starting out in television in 2000, she worked in various production roles before setting up Juicy back in 2004. These days her love of story-telling can be found in directing, producing, editing (yes, a preditor!) travel writing and podcasting. While she has a particular affinity for travel and adventure production, over the years she’s helped produce numerous TVCs, videos and branded content for a range of clients including NPWS, Qantas, P&O Cruises, Disney Imagineering, Commonwealth Bank and the RTA. When she’s not creating work for others, she spends her time on her own adventures and volunteering for the SES coordinating search and rescue operations in the Blue Mountains or teaching traditional navigation skills. In 2021 she wrote and published the book, 'How to Navigate - the art of traditional map and compass navigation in an Australian context,' which is the navigation text book for NSW Police Rescue and the SES. You can find her outdoor adventure blog at: lotsafreshair.com and listen to her podcast, 'Rescued' on all podcast platforms.