Sagittarius Rising

About the Author

Maxine Beneba Clarke is the author of over fourteen books for adults and children, including the ABIA and Indie award winning short fiction collection Foreign Soil, the critically acclaimed bestselling memoir The Hate Race, the self-illustrated picture book When We Say Black Lives Matter, which was longlisted for the UK’s Kate Greenaway medal, and the CBCA Honour Book The Patchwork Bike (illustrated by Van T Rudd), which won the 2019 Boston Globe Horn Prize for Best Picture Book. Her poetry collections include Carrying the World, which won the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Poetry, How Decent Folk Behave, and It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people, which won the 2024 ABIA for Book of the Year for Younger Readers. Maxine is the inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence at the University of Melbourne 2023–2025.

Jade Goodwin is a First Nations illustrator based in Australia. Jade’s creative journey began at an early age in her grandparents' screen printing studio, where she would spend an endless amount of time crafting anything she could from studio supplies. Her passion for creativity and illustration grew over time, eventually leading to a successful career in the children’s publishing industry. Building on her debut publishing contract in 2021, Jade has expanded her portfolio by signing contracts for another 22 books. Jade loves bringing imagination to life through her sweet and bright illustrations and hopes to inspire children and adults alike.