Liz Parkinson has lived at North Avoca for almost the last 40 years, and came from Muswellbrook originally. She graduated in Economics after attending Sydney University, and became a teacher. After that she worked in her husband’s computer and internet business for a number of years. She has also travelled widely and in recent years has settled into the latter-day careers of writing and art.

Her cards feature local landmarks, native trees or Australian birds which are drawn in my own unique style. She has written a history of Terrigal which has been very well received and is now in its second edition. She has had numerous exhibitions of her artwork both in Australia and overseas with a number of her pieces included in collections and galleries.

Connect with the author on Instagram @parkinson_liz

Hello, I’m Bridget, the illustrator and creator behind Stray Leaves.

Creating art makes me a better person. I adore making fun, bright and happy illustrations that bring people joy! Nothing makes me happier than seeing people smile from my work.

The name Stray Leaves originates from my family home in Bundanoon NSW. With a large number of trees in the backyard, and a short walk to the national park, my childhood was full of outdoor adventures and nature appreciation. This is a huge inspiration for my work and sparked my love for native Australian flora and fauna.

Now based in Woy Woy NSW, I am constantly inspired by the beautiful bushland and ocean that surrounds me.
From this love sparked my passion for the environment and conservation of this beautiful world. I believe we can all do our part and our art doesn’t have to cost the earth. That’s why I choose to use recycled and responsibly sourced materials in all my work.
When I’m not illustrating stationery and giftware, I am illustrating children’s books. Everything and everyone has a beautiful story that deserves to be told and I love being able to help bring them into the world.

Website: https://www.strayleaves.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strayleaves_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrayLeavesIllustration

Louise is a Central Coast surf lifesaver with a background in early childhood. She has combined both skills to create a series of water safety books for children aged 3-8 years of age.

Her books are engaging stories that also help children and adults have important lifesaving conversations about how to be safe around water and what to do if you need help.

Annie and the Waves is a beach safety book reviewed and endorsed by Surf Life Saving Australia. (ages 3-8)

Rohit at the River was grant funded by Central Coast Council and explores the importance of learning water to swim and the dangers around rivers. This book has been reviewed by Royal Life Saving Society Australia, AUSTSWIM and Life Saving Victoria. (ages 4-8)

Tight Line is a children’s fishing safety book but so much more! The coastal safety messages have been endorsed by Surf Life Saving Australia. The book was funded by Surf

Life Saving NSW as part of their rock fishing safety campaign. (ages 8+) 

Louise is a visiting author and water safety educator at early childhood centres, schools, TAFE, Universities, and community organisations (Rotary, Probus, Lions Clubs etc).

Find out more at www.linktr.ee/louiselambeth

Born 1938, Jocelyn Maughan studied five years full-time at the National Art School, Sydney, graduating in 1958. Notable and influential teachers included Jimmy Cook, Peter Laverty and Tom Thompson. Fellow students also sparked off each other and of special mention were the talented Brian Dunlop, Margaret Woodward and Robin Norling. Maughan founded the art school on the Meadowbank campus of the Department of Technical Education, concurrent with a career as a practising and exhibiting artist. She has been a guest lecturer, demonstrator and judge for a number of art societies, universities, schools of art and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Awards: Robert Le Gay Brereton Prize for Draughtsmanship (student award) 1957; Portia Geach Prize for Portrait Painting 1976; Margaret Fesq Prize for Portrait Painting (RAS award) 1983; various municipal art awards, including Gosford Art Prize 2019. Order of Australia Medal “for service to the visual arts, and to education”, 2018.

Find out more at www.jocelynmaughan.com 

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde has called Australia home since 1990. She holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Macquarie University, Sydney and has published poetry, a collection of short fiction and recently her debut novel, The Lyrebird’s Cry. 

Samantha is a member of White Pebbles Haiku Group which meets in Gosford at the beautiful and peaceful Edogawa Commemorative Garden at the beginning of each season to share in their collective joy of haiku. The group enjoys gathering at the Arts Centre’s café and is often inspired by the exhibitions held at the Regional Gallery.

The Lyrebird’s Cry is a modern tale of self-discovery unfolding mainly in Australia with a short stint in and numerous flashbacks to Sri Lanka. The story delves into issues of gender, love, marriage, sexuality, identity and migration. It also focuses on exploring the main character's self-acceptance issues and the differences in the cultural perception of personal freedom in Sri Lanka and Australia.

Jagath, the main character, returns home to Sri Lanka from Australia but his idyllic holiday turns into a nightmare of deceit and lies when his parents pressure him into an arranged marriage. Will he face his demons or will he continue the charade, like the lyrebird mimicking the sounds of the world around it?

Connect with the author on Twitter as @sam_sirimanne

Diane Eklund-Abolins grew up in Australia and, after teaching for several years, moved overseas. During the two decades she lived in Sweden, she divided her time between family, teaching, university studies and an art practice, which involved a number of art exhibitions. On her return to Australia, she continued to exhibit regularly, parallel to her work as a consular officer and art studies at the University of Newcastle. 

Her books cover a number of genres, including biography, science fiction and historical fiction. An ardent long-distance walker, her book 45 Days: Walking the Bibbulmun Track is an account of a 6-week walk she did together with one of her sons. 

Diane now lives on the Central Coast of NSW with her husband.

Information about Diane’s books and art can be found on her website at diane.eklund.abolins.net  
 

Ken Lamb holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales. He majored in modern landscape painting and abstract steel sculpture with a particular interest in Oriental aesthetics, Japanese sumi-e brush painting, and traditional Chinese landscape ink paintings of the Sung dynasty. After working as an artist for 10 years with successful shows in Sydney, Colombo and Sri Lanka, he embarked on the journey of discovery of Japanese gardens.

• Ken founded Imperial Gardens Landscape in 1984 specialising in the design and construction of Japanese & Oriental gardens. 
• He became inaugural Director of the International Association of Japanese Gardens in 1994 and host of the 12th International Symposium of Japanese Gardens in Sydney 2012. 
• He runs Pruning Workshops from Hidden Orient Nursery Belrose and works with local & state government with specialised pruning, training, and garden renovations.
• Imperial Gardens is a multi-award winning company and contributor to the Hidden Gardens Festival showcasing exceptional gardens. 

For more information, visit www.imperialgardens.com.au
 

In addition to books by individual local authors, the Gallery Gift Shop stocks children's books and a broad range of adult books focusing on:

• International art
• Australian art
• Aboriginal art
• Artistic techniques and tutorials
• Gardens
• Japan
• Manga and anime
• Travel
• Activity books
• Origami
• Notebooks
• Poetry, and more

We also stock origami paper and kits, gift wrap, jigsaw puzzles and more.

Colleen Keating is a Sydney poet. Her writing explores the wonder and paradox of nature with the harsh realities of life,  justice, equality and the increasing threat to our natural environment.  Colleen’s answer to the world is poetry. 

Colleen is a member of White Pebbles Haiku Group which meets in Gosford at the beautiful and peaceful Edogawa Commemorative Garden at the beginning of each season to share in their collective joy of haiku. The group enjoys gathering at the Gallery café and is often inspired by the exhibitions held at the Gosford Regional Gallery.

Colleen has published six collections of poetry, including two award-winning verse novels, Hildegard of Bingen: A poetic journey and Olive Muriel Pink: her radical & idealistic life. Her newly published book is The Dinner Party: A poetic reflection. (2023) 

Colleen is co-editor of the past two anthologies of the Women Writers Network.  She enjoys several other poetry groups to share and edit her work.

Colleen writes on Ku-ring-gai land in Sydney and Darkinjung on the Central Coast of NSW.

Sally Jane Smith has lived on five continents and visited thirty-three countries, but she gives credit to Greece for turning her into a writer. She has worked in museums, universities, a language institute, a residence for people with disabilities, an art gallery, a primary school and a wildlife park. She also co-hosts two book clubs and assists the organisers of a biennial book-themed convention. She is currently based in Australia.

In 2006, the bus on which she was travelling through Sri Lanka suffered a head-on collision, breaking both her body and her spirit. A decade on, she journeyed to Greece in a quest to recover her wanderlust – and proved it is possible for an out-of-shape, middle-aged woman on a budget, equipped only with a guidebook and her mother’s 1978 travel diary, to experience a life-changing adventure. This is the story that became Unpacking for Greece, now available in the Gallery gift shop. 

Sally’s life writing also appears in the anthologies Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure and the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology 2022. She was awarded First Place Non-Fiction in the Port Writers Open Literary Competition 2021, and shortlisted by the Society of Women Writers NSW in their National Writing Competition 2022. Her bylines include Gulf News, TripFiction, Women’s Ink!, Brevity Blog and JourneyWoman.

Connect with Sally on social media as @JourneysInPages or find out more at www.SallyJaneSmith.com