The Rabbits

Biography: John Marsden grew up in three states of Australia, and now lives in Victoria. John loved school so much that he started his own. Or, he hated school so much that he started his own in 2006 so that other kids wouldn’t have to go through the suffering he experienced. Candlebark is in a beautiful forest near Hanging Rock, and is John’s proudest achievement. John has also published more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, which was made into a highly successful movie, Looking for Trouble, Staying Alive in Year Five, Creep Street and Cool School. John is one of Australia’s biggest selling and most awarded authors.

Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the ‘good drawer’ which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne. Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar’s WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia.