Tamara Reads is a lecturer in English at Curtin University's School of Education. She previously worked for the NSW Department of Education for 20 years as an English teacher, teacher librarian, and Premier’s Reading Challenge Program Officer, and is passionate about supporting students and teachers in finding stories that speak to their souls. Her PhD research examines the impact of the Premier's Reading Challenge on student reading for pleasure across three Australian states, and explores ways in which schools and teachers can support students in developing lifelong habits of reading for pleasure.

Katina Zammit is an Associate Professor at Western Sydney University. She is passionate about improving literacy outcomes for students from socio-economically disadvantaged and cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She collaborates closely with colleagues on projects and publications, including academics and teachers in schools, undertaking projects to improve students’ engagement in learning and education. Her work focuses on making connections between changes in teachers’ practices and students’ academic outcomes, as well as developing students’ multiple literacies. Her research on student engagement, writing, multiliteracies, translanguaging and literacy pedagogy has been widely published.