VIVIENNE CLEVEN was born in 1968 in Surat, Queensland. Her nation is Kamilaroi. She left school at the age of 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. Her novel, Bitin’ Back, won the David Unaipon Award in 2000, and was shortlisted for the Courier-Mail Book of the Year Award and the South Australian Premier’s Award for Fiction in 2002. Her novel Sister’s Eye, published in 2002, was chosen in the 2003 People’s Choice shortlist of One Book One Brisbane. Bitin’ Back is her first play.

WESLEY ENOCH is a writer and director from Stradbroke Island (Minjeribah) and a proud Quandamooka man. He is the Deputy Chair of Creative Australia and has held key leadership roles, including Artistic Director of Sydney Festival, Queensland Theatre Company, Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts, and Ilbijerri Theatre Company. He has also been an Associate Artistic Director at Belvoir Street Theatre and a Resident Director at Sydney Theatre Company. A leading voice in Indigenous storytelling, Wesley has written and directed acclaimed productions that have toured nationally and internationally. His work spans theatre, major cultural events, and festivals, including serving as a creative consultant for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. His landmark works include The 7 Stages of Grieving, co-written with Deborah Mailman, The Sunshine Club, which won the Matilda and Deadly Awards, and The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table, which won the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award. Throughout his career, Wesley has championed First Nations voices in the arts, earning multiple awards and recognitions.

DAVID MILROY was born in Perth Western Australia in 1957. Milroy's family links are with the Injibarndi and Palku people of the Pilbara. Formerly Artistic Director of Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre, Milroy has been involved in theatre in Western Australia for a number of years as a musician, director and writer. His writing/directing credits include: King Hit, Runumuk, One Day in '67 and No Shame. He provided musical direction for Sistergirl and Dead Heart (Black Swan Theatre Company) and Perth Theatre Company's production of Wild Cat Falling. He co-wrote and directed Sally Morgan's hit play Cruel Wild Woman and Barking Gecko's production of Own Worst Enemy for the Festival of Perth.

LARISSA BEHRENDTt is a Eualeyai and Kamillaroi woman. She is an academic and award-winning author, and is currently a Professor of Law and Director of Research at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology in Sydney. Her first novel Home won the 2002 David Uniapon Award and a 2005 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. Her second novel Legacy was released in 2009 and won a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. She is also the author of several books on Indigenous legal issues. In 2009, Larissa was named NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year and in 2011 she was named NSW Australian of the Year.

JANE HARRISON is descended from the Muruwari people of NSW. Her plays include Stolen, Rainbow’s End and The Visitors, the latter winning the Sydney Critics Award for Best New Australian Work in 2021, and Best Production and Best Ensemble in 2024. The opera The Visitors premiered in 2023. Her novels include Becoming Kirrali Lewis and The Visitors. She received the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in 2023 and was the Festival Director of Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival (2016 - 2024).

GEOFFREY NARKLE was born in Narrogin, Western Australia in April 1951. King Hit chronicles his life from mission kid to manhood, traveling throughout Western Australia as part of Stewart's boxing troupe where he was known as the Barker Bulldog. In 1993 he became a pastor at the Aboriginal Evangelical Church, Balga, and was a respected and strong presence in the Noongar community. He married Glenys Narkle and they had four children: Bradley, Geoff Jnr, Vanessa and Melanie. Geoffrey Narkle died in August 2005.