About Us
What is Book Fair Australia?
Book Fair Australia is a literary festival that celebrates stories of all genres.
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We welcome traditionally and independently published authors alike to share their diverse range through dedicated stalls, discussion panels, workshops and more. A thrilling weekend fit for any book lover, come by with friends and family to get your books signed and explore a world of storytelling right in Sydney.
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The team at Book Fair Australia commit ourselves to bringing the fun back into a timeless hobby through engaging with local authors, focusing on our love for books, and connecting readers and writers.
The 'Why' of Book Fair Australia
At the end of the day, we're all about putting book fans first while providing a platform for local traditional and independent authors. Australian literature is dwarfed in the literary world compared to giants like America and the UK. There remains a gap in publicity and attention, not only for traditionally published Australian novels, but especially for independently published works too. And this isn't only about the industry and sales, but connecting to our local audience.
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Book Fair Australia aims to join creators and readers, and someone just as well could be both! We believe that taking a step to bring local book lovers together will enable Australians to recognise their place in a wide world of books.
Who is involved in the making of Book Fair Australia?
The group behind it all is a team of volunteers who love writing, reading, friends who write and read, or all of these! We bring combined professional experience from publishing, project management, journalism, public relations, software development and administration to our work.
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Our CEO & Founder is Ivana L. Truglio who is an indie author herself. She owns and runs a publishing company and has exhibited in various conventions since 2015. She worked in multi-national publishing companies for eleven years, learning all the tricks of the trade. In her spare time, Ivana loves playing board games and fencing with her entire family where they poke each other (gently) with swords.
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The core of Book Fair Australia is all our exhibitors from authors to book merchandise vendors, publishers and printers. We collaborate with traditional and independent authors to publicise their attendance at the festival and ensure they are ready before and during the exhibiting weekend so they can make the most of the experience.
Who we are
CEO & Founder
Ivana L. Truglio
Ivana is an indie author who owns and runs her own publishing company. She has exhibited in various conventions since 2015. She worked in multi-national publishing companies for eleven years, learning all the tricks of the trade. In her spare time, Ivana loves playing board games and fencing with her daughter where they poke each other (gently) with swords.
Event Manager
Alexandra Larach
Alexandra Larach is a Sydney based event manager and writer. She has yet to publish her debut novel but loves talking about the writing process and discussing your various thoughts and theories on new ideas.
Alexandra has been working in the for-purpose industry for the past five years and carries the tenets of the sector in everything she does. Having studied a Masters in policing, intelligence and counter terrorism Alexandra is fascinated by human behaviour and the judicial process.
Event Host & Author Liaison
Annie McCann
Annie McCann is an Indonesian-Australian emerging writer, blogger and emcee from Western Sydney. She is the founder of Read3r’z Re-Vu network of readers and co-founder of The Right Pen Collective. In 2021, Annie was an Australia Reads ambassador and co-winner of the Women Empowering Women awards in the Creative Arts Pioneer category. Annie is very passionate about cultural diversity especially in books and pop culture. When she’s not reading or writing she’s either watching Parramatta Eels play NRL, playing virtual DnD with friends or jamming to Michael Jackson’s greatest hits.
Exhibitor Assistant
Ariel Stephenson
Ariel is an avid reader who reads across all genres including fanatasy, paranormal, horror, romance and crime. She is a writer who is yet to publish. She is new to the Book Fair Australia Team. She spends her days and most nights looking after the animals of the world. Whenever she gets a chance she is to be found writing while accompained by her trusty void kitty (he who lies on top of laptops).
Social Media Coordinator
Ash Stockton
Ash Stockton (They/Them) is a Queensland based proudly non-binary artist who has always loved books, specifically fantasy. Ash hopes to teach a new generation about the wonderful world of books, through their work in early childcare and education. Ash enjoys sitting with their cat doing anything crafty and creative, including but not limited to painting, cross stitch, crochet, cake making/decorating, creative video games and creating TikToks.
Social Media Coordinator
Emily Wei
Emily Wei (she/her) is an aspiring lifestyle content creator, avid reader and certified cat lover. When she's not busy catching up on some reading, she loves to harness the power of social media as a tool for self-expression and a means to connect authentically with audiences. You’ll find her posting all things Taylor Swift, fantasy and romance novels, baking and fashion, just to name a few.
Social Media Coordinator
Imogen Elvis
Imogen is an indie author and avid book lover who owns far more books than she has shelves to put them on. She loves all things fantasy, sci-fi, and young adult fiction, both to read and to write. She has four published novels, the most recent of which is a YA Fantasy, THE IRON WINTER, as well as a BA Writing and Publishing. In her spare time, Imogen can be found wrangling yarn, lost in a video game, or snuggling one of her dogs.
Exhibitor Liaison
Katie Fraser
Katie Fraser can’t remember a time when she hasn’t loved books. She currently works as a fiction editor and independent author, and her volunteer endeavours include Little Athletics and Book Fair Australia. Katie has been exhibiting as an independent author since 2016 and learnt a lot about exhibiting along the way. She is looking forward to sharing her knowledge of exhibiting and supporting exhibitors at Book Fair Australia, aiming to make sure our events are successful for everyone.
Author Liaison
Laura Hunter
Laura is a bestselling author, writing as L.L. Hunter and has published over 50 titles to date. She brings a wealth of eventing and customer service experience to her role at Book Fair Australia, having worked previously at the State Theatre and Tennis NSW. She loves animals, good wine, and true crime documentaries.
Social Media Coordinator
Loren Tuxford
Loren Tuxford is the author of The Nightfall Series (Dark Fantasy featuring M/F & M/M romance). She enjoys writing about characters with real issues in fantasy lands, where morals are grey, goals are lofty and don’t always go to plan. After making her own books as a small child, Loren decided it was time to share her stories with the world, much to the delight of her dark sense of humor. Loren enjoys stargazing, birdwatching, strong coffee, overgrown cemeteries, reading, and transcribing the conversations taking place in her imagination.
Business and Finance Manager
Megs Drinkwater
Megs is a database consultant, crafter, author and book lover. She can often be found at conventions selling handmade jewellery and craft kits and has been exhibiting at various conventions in Australia/New Zealand since 2012. Between exhibiting and the ‘day job’, she brings years of experience in data analytics, marketing, business planning, stall setup, stock management and logistics. When she isn’t making new ear cuffs or kits, Megs like doing cross stitch, jigsaw puzzles and planning her next travel adventure.
Social Media Coordinator
Quinn Li
Quinton Li (they/them) is a Melbourne-based non-binary novelist, poet, fiction editor and anthology curator. They are the author of TELL ME HOW IT ENDS and CHRYSALIS AND REQUIEM, and editor of DEVOUT: AN ANTHOLOGY OF ANGELS. Their work often engages with identity, justice, faith, and the unknown. They have a BComm in Public Relations.
Marketing Manager
Sheryl Tan
Sheryl Tan is passionate about leveraging digital platforms to help brands connect meaningfully with their audiences through effective strategies and compelling content. As an extroverted introvert, Sheryl enjoys checking out local cafes as a true foodie and the quiet comfort of a good book outside of work. It has always been her dream to work in a café-cum-library or bookstore, where she can be surrounded by shelves of books, each holding a world of possibilities, accompanied by the delightful aromas of coffee and freshly baked pastries.
HR & Community Manager
Tori Johnson
Tori is an avid lover of books, as is evident by the 120+ books on her to be read ‘shelf’, and a fantasy author. She has been a Municipal Liaison for the Sydney Region of National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for five years, and brings experience wrangling book lovers and managing online platforms to the team. Her debut novel, THE SHARP EDGE OF FATE, released in 2023 and its sequel will release in 2024. She writes fantasy with strong characters and stronger friendships set in an industrial world full of magic, demons and knife-fights.