Sisters of Freedom

Mary-Anne O'Connor debuted at #3 on the Australian fiction bestseller lists in 2015 with her breakout novel Gallipoli Street. Since then, she has gone on to produce continuous bestsellers, from her historical fiction novels surrounding Australia's explosive cultural upheaval during the 19th and 20th centuries, to her escapist English Christmas romance novels. Her novels include Gallipoli Street, Worth Fighting For, War Flower, In A Great Southern Land, Where Fortune Lies, Sisters of Freedom, Dressed By Iris, Never to Surrender and The Stowaway. She has also co-written two non-fiction books about art, A Brush with Light and Secrets of the Brush, with her father, well-known Australian traditional artist Kevin Best. O'Connor lives in a house overlooking her beloved bushland in northern Sydney with her husband Anthony and their two sons Jimmy and Jack. Her latest novel, Christmas Joy, came out in 2025.

Tayla Thomas is a versatile performer with a passion for bringing stories to life. A seasoned theatre actor and classically trained vocalist, her credits include Disneyland (vocalist), The Voice Australia Finalist and Three Little Pigs with AG Theatre. Her voiceover experience spans diverse projects, from government campaigns and university ads for Latrobe University, to character work for World of Pets. Audiobooks she has narrated include The Missing, The Prospect and The Witness by bestselling author Fleur McDonald and The Duke's Secret by Sue Williams.