Zachary Ashford is the Aurealis-nominated author of When the Cicadas Stop Singing, a very Australian post-apocalyptic tale set deep in the hinterland beyond the Gold Coast, and several other tales imbued with the fabric of the Australian outback, culture, and humour. Among them, you’ll find stories of drop bears, lizard people, crocodiles, highway-patrolling serial killers, and heavy metal bands.

As well as writing fiction, Ashford is also the author of hundreds of online articles for Ozzy Man Reviews and has written for publications like the Sunshine Coast Daily, Aurealis Magazine, and Nerdbastards. In a prior life, he was the creative director behind Rebel FM, and part of the creative team at Hot 91 and Zinc 96.

He presents on:

• Planning and writing short stories
• Writing speculative fiction
• Writing feature articles and literary essays
• Writing Advertising and Persuasive texts