Janet appeared for MUD members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2012. As the inspirational creator of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Janet is one of the most influential and high profile Australians living in Bali. She is also amongst the busiest, running the famous Casa Luna restaurant and cookery school, and writing three charismatic food books laced with memoir. Her speech at the initial MUD event in March 2012 helped establish the impetus for MUD to succeed.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2013, and appearing for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2013. One of Australia’s most thoughtful, challenging and provocative novelists, published in 26 countries, Richard is a strident voice in our cultural landscape. A former Rhodes Scholar, his novels are intense, complicated and highly skilled in literary technique – a style compared to such giants as Melville and Dickens. He has also written stinging articles on environmental and political concerns that have had telling ramifications in his beloved home of Tasmania.

Appeared for MUD members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s Signature Room luncheon in November 2012. The loved former presenter of The Book Show on ABC Radio National has emerged as a valuable writer in her own right. Her pen touches a wide array of subjects, from literary criticism, to transcripts of her interviews with famous authors, to Jewish recipe books. All this and much more was explored in detail during a fascinating interview with Ramona for MUD’s lavish Signature Sunday luncheon at Yalumba.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2013, and appeared for Mud members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2013. This charismatic writer from the tiny island of Biliton has written Indonesia’s biggest best-seller with The Rainbow Troops, a charming story highlighting disparity between wealth and poverty, education and ignorance. Andrea’s book launch sponsored by MUD at Adelaide Writers Week 2013 was an important introduction of popular Indonesian literature to local audiences. For MUD members at our Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon, he not only gave an intimate insight to his writing process, but also treated our audience to a demonstration of his other creative gifts, as a songwriter and guitarist.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2012. With a background in environmental politics, Ruby now writes regularly for Australian magazines, newspapers, journals and anthologies. Running Dogs, her first novel, is set amidst the tumult of Jakarta – drawn from her experience working in the Indonesian capital as an aid worker. Fittingly, MUD helped Ruby present this book at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, and she thanked MUD by attending our members-only dinner in Ubud during the festival.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2012. The appearance of such an important regional political figure at UWRF in 2012 was a coup for the literary festival – and MUD was proud to fund this dynamic and inspirational speaker. For MUD members, he graced our table and conversed all night at the special members-only dinner during the festival. He served as exiled spokeman for East Timorese independence between 1975-1999. In May 2022 José Ramos Horta became President of East Timor

Sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2013, and appeared for Mud members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2013. One of Australia’s great literary treasures, the tireless Tom Keneally remains among our keenest and most prolific scribes. His prolific canon stretches from the masterworks of Schindler’s Ark and The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, to his engaging memoirs including Homebush Boy, to his continuing national history Australians. In conversation with David Sly at Penny’s Hill Winery, Tom gave MUD members a privileged insight to the working mind of an author, discussing elements of research being undertaken for his next novel.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2013, and appeared for Mud members and guests at MUD’s cocktail function in July 2013. A gifted and determined young author who writes across many mediums, from short stories and articles for The Monthly, The Big Issue and Griffith Revue, to novels. She took time out from researching her second novel to appear for an exclusive MUD members cocktail party. Writing in a distinctively Australian voice, her first novel Floundering was appropriately shortlisted for the 2013 Miles Franklin Award.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2013. After writing seven gritty issue-based novels from the mid-1980s, Lionel won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction with We Need to Talk About Kevin, a controversial thriller examining how maternal ambivalence affected the title character's decision to murder nine people at his high school. Her strident, confronting style is also evident in her 2012 novel, Big Brother, examining obesity.

Appeared for MUD members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2014. Acclaimed as one of Australia’s more clever postmodern novelists, Mark Henshaw published his debut novel Out of the Line of Fire in 1988, which won several awards and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. After 26 years, during which Mark was curator at the National Gallery of Australia, he delivered a sensational second novel, The Snow Kimono, an intriguing narrative puzzle praised for its complexity and cunning nuance.

Frank was sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2014. He also joined MUD members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2014. One of Australia’s most respected and prolific writers – working across the idioms of novel writing, memoir, essays and journalism – Frank Moorhouse received the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2013. His novel Dark Palace won the Miles Franklin Award in 2001, and Cold Light took out the $25,000 Premier’s Award for the Adelaide Festival Award for Literature, and also won the $15,000 fiction prize during Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2014. Sadly Frank Moorhouse passed away in 2022. It was a great privilege to have him as a dear MUDMate.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2014, and appeared for Mud members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2014. The fantastic writing of young novellist Hannah Kent is only match by the fascinating tale of how she came to research her bewitching historical fiction, Burial Rights – and the international bidding war that erupted among publishers for her first book. While a Hollywood movie of Burial Rights will soon be in production, it has been short listed for the Stella Award, and been awarded the Indie Prize for Best Debut Novel.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2015, and appeared for Mud members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2015. Hannie’s most celebrated play Hotel Sorrento (also made into a movie) is now regarded as a modern Australian classic, while her play Life After George was the first play to be nominated for a Miles Franklin Award. She has also written an entertaining autobiographical work Hello Beautiful: Scenes From A Life.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2015, and appeared for Mud members and guests at the Penny’s Hill Winery luncheon in March 2015. Beyond his compelling Australian history text The Water Dreamers, Michael is the busy host of Radio National’s Arts Daily program, and is a regular host and interviewer at both Adelaide Writers Week and Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at MUD’s mid-year cocktail function in July 2015. Favel has won wide acclaim for her first two novels, Past The Shallows (shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award), and When the Night Comes (released in late 2014). Favel’s progress has been watched keenly by the MUD committee, having been recommended by the Ubud festival director as a worthy beneficiary of sponsorship. However, international commitments with her publisher have so far prevented Favel appearing at Ubud.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2015. As she was announced as 2015 Stella Prize winner, Emily Bitto was also chosen as MUD’s sponsored emerging writer for Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. Her debut novel, The Strays has enjoyed widespread media coverage, including feature articles in The Australian and an interview on Radio National.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2015. Adding to her significant success as a childrens’ author, Sofie took Australia’s top fiction prize, the $60,000 Miles Franklin Literary Award, for her second novel for adults, The Eye of the Sheep. Her first novel, One Foot Wrong, released in 2008, was long listed for the award, and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Screen rights have also been optioned and Sofie recently completed the screenplay.

A great believer in the value and virtue of MUD Literary Club A great believer in the value and virtue of MUD Literary Club, Laura has been a keen supporter and attendee at MUD events, and has established a fantastic working relationship with the MUD committee. She continues to make terrific suggestions of worthy writers for MUD sponsorship at Adelaide Writers’ Week and helps provide access to the very best writers for appearances at MUD events.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2014. Rolf’s festival discussion about telling indigenous stores, film-making and scriptwriting reflected on his celebrated films Charlie’s Country, Ten Canoes and The Tracker. His other internationally respected films include Dingo, Bad Boy Bubby and The Sound of One Hand Clapping (based on MUDmate Richard Flanagan’s novel).

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2014. Recognised as one of Australia’s great emerging writing talents, Eleanor was shortlisted for the 2014 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal. Her strong debut novel What Was Left was followed in 2015 by a gripping historical novel, Long Bay.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2015. The esteemed editor of many of Australia’s most celebrated fiction authors and poets – including Peter Carey, David Malouf, Murray Ball and Olga Masters – won plaudits for his memoir Under Cover: Adventures in the Art of Editing. He has also been a judge of Australia’s leading literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award, since 2012.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Penny’s Hill luncheon in March 2016. The winner of the 2016 Ian Fleming Golden Dagger Award – for best crime novel, with Life or Death, beating Stephen King and J.K. Rowling – has emerged as a prolific crime writer after a decorated career in journalism. His 11 books have won a huge international audience for Michael, especially in Holland and Germany (where several titles have been made into successful movies).

Appeared for Mud members and guests at MUD mid-year cocktails in July 2016. Arts Editor of The Australian newspaper and winner of Australian journalism’s highest prize, a Walkley Award, Ashleigh wrote the authorised biography Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and The Other Thing – a most revealing book about one of Australia’s most charismatic and controversial visual artists.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2016 - and with Sagaland co-author Kari Gislason at Peeny's Hill Winery in March 2018. Once a ratbag comedian/musician in the internationally famed Doug Anthony Allstars, and now broadcaster of the popular national ABC Radio program Conversations With, Richard is also author of the historical reflection on the Byzantine Empire, Ghost Empire, and the Icelandic tale Sagaland, written with Kari Gislason.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2016. Author of The Natural Way of Things, which won the 2016 Stella Prize and was shortlisted for the 2016 Miles Franklin Award. Her other celebrated books include Animal People and Pieces of a Girl.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2016. A prodigious young writing talent, Ellen’s first book, Heat and Light, won a Queensland Literary Awards for unpublished Indigenous writers, the 2016 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writers Prize and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize in 2015.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Penny’s Hill luncheon in March 2017. Her powerful novel The Secret River, released in 2006, detailed a poignant Australian story about race and community, winning the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and Britain’s Orange Prize. She has released 15 books, including non-fiction, biographies and books on the writing process.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Penny’s Hill luncheon in March 2017. Commissioned by Kate Blanchett and STC to adapt Kate Grenville’s novel The Secret River for the stage – now one of the outstanding theatrical events presented during the 2017 Adelaide Festival. He also has film writing credits for Lantana, Edge of Darkness and Strictly Ballroom.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at MUD mid-year cocktails in July 2017. Short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award in 2016, Lucy Trevloar’s book is a compelling fiction about relationships between indigenous people and white pioneers in South Australia’s Coorong.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2017. Incisive and penetrating while still showing wit and eloquence, Robert Dessaix has won a captive international audience for such celebrated non-fiction works as The Pleasures of Leisure and Arabesques, and his novels Night Letters and Corfu.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2017. Kate’s non-fiction work Anaesthesia won the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, 2017 and the 2017 Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Media Award. She followed this landmark debut with the novel Walking to the Moon.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at MUD mid-year cocktails in July 2018. Basing her novel on historical facts, Sarah Schmidt wrote See What I Have Done about the possible perpetrator and psychopathology of the seemingly well-to-do Borden family at the centre of this late-19th century New England murder.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2018. Garnering international acclaim for her novels, Gail Jones has been a prolific author since 1992. Her most recognised books include Sorry, A Guide to Berlin and The Death of Noah Glass.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2018. Acclaimed as one of the brightest young writers in Australia, Bryon Bay-based author Jessie Cole has built in her impressive collection of literary novels with the searing memoir Staying.

Revered as one of Australia’s great modern authors, Tim Winton donated an inscribed set of his most acclaimed books as a special fundraising item for MUD in 2018, as a gesture of support and admiration for MUD’s philanthropic work to support Australian literature.

Appeared for MUD members and guests at Penny’s Hill luncheon in March 2019. A former high school English teacher, Markus Zusak won international fame for his ingenious novel The Book Thief, later made into a successful Hollywood movie. After a torturous 13-year ordeal, he completed his epic follow-up Bridge of Clay in 2018.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2018 . Adelaide’s Tim Jarvis - adventurer, historical novelist and environmental scientist – has drawn global attention to the plight of polar environments, initially through his books that recreated the Antarctic treks of pioneer explorers Sir Earnest Shackleton and Sir Douglas Mawson, and his continuing activism through international conservation project 25Zero.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in March 2021. Brisbane-based journalist Trent Dalton made the switch to literary fiction with his outstanding first novel Boy Swallows Universe. A magical recounting of a dangerous urban upbringing, partly based on his own hard-hewn childhood, this novel was the unanimous vote from judges to take out the 2019 MUD Literary Prize, awarded during 2019 Adelaide Writers’ Week. He returned to speak about his second novel, All Our Shimmering Skies.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at MUD mid-year cocktails in July 2019. Having walked away from a successful legal career in Melbourne, Jock and his family decamped to Port Fairy, Victoria, where he has focused intently as a novel writer. He has produced four acclaimed books in five years – all being nominated for major Australian literary awards – and still manages time to surf regularly.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2019. The acclaimed Australian indigenous author first won international attention for her 2016 debut Swallowing the Air. She is now based in France and was sponsored by MUD to attend Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and introduce her new novel The Yield.

Sponsored by MUD to appear at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October 2019. The Tasmanian author has earned mainstream attention for his first novel Flames – which was one five shortlisted titles for the 2019 MUD Literary Prize.

Appeared for Mud members and guests at Yalumba Winery’s luncheon in November 2019 . ABC broadcaster, newspaper columnist and prolific author Richard Glover has enjoyed best-selling success with hit nostalgia profile The Land Before Avocado and his witty but revealing memoir Flesh Wounds.

Sienna Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica Sienna Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Canada. But it wasn’t until a move to Sydney that she came across William Buchanan’s story and wrote her extraordinary debut novel about one of Australia's forgotten Jamaican convicts – which won her the 2020 MUD Literary Prize for best first Australian Literary Novel.

Appeared for MUD members and guests at Penny’s Hill luncheon in March 2020. Melbourne-based Christos Tsiolkas is the prolific author of many acclaimed books: Loaded (which was made into the feature film Head-On), The Jesus Man, Dead Europe, The Devil’s Playground, The Slap (2009 Australian Booksellers Association and Australian Book Industry Awards Books of the Year), Barracuda, Merciless Gods, and his current release Damascus.

Appeared for MUD members and guests at Penny's Hill luncheon in November 2021. Adelaide Hills writer Pip Williams created one of the most refreshingly original and popular books in Australia during 2020 with her debut fiction The Dictionary of Lost Words - weaving a tale of female empowerment in the early 1900s with the creation of an alternative dictionary capturing women's terms that the official Oxford dictionary had rejected

Appeared for MUD members at mid-year cocktail function in June 2022. In her debut novel Love & Virtue, Sydney-based writer Diana Reid writes a brave and daring examination of sexual assault, misogyny, power struggles and the rights of individuals, told through a bright young woman’s turbulent first year on university campus.