For the Love of a Small Patch of Land

Christine Breen had her first novel, Her Name Is Rose, published when she was 60. Her second novel, Accidents, is finished but not yet published. Her month-by-month account of life in her garden, In Kiltumper: A Year in an Irish Garden, was published by Bloomsbury in 2021. 

Niall Williams is the author of nine novels, including History of the Rain, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize; Four Letters of Love, which was made into a major motion picture; This Is Happiness, which was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Book of the Year; and most recently, Time of the Child. 

Amanda Vanstone entered the Australian Parliament in 1984 and was a Liberal senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007. Her portfolios included employment, education, training and youth affairs, and immigration and multicultural and Indigenous affairs. After resigning from the Senate in 2007, Amanda served as the Australian ambassador to Italy until July 2010. She now serves on the boards, councils and committees of various organisations, including the Adelaide Festival of Arts.