2026 Workshop Presenters
Amy Blythe
Amy Blythe (she/her) is a hybrid author with six self-published romcoms and two Harlequin Medicals to her name so far. As a high-school English teacher and youth poetry slam organiser, she loves creative communities, the magic of words, and almost any combination of the two! Amy lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband and two teenagers. When she’s not writing, she smashes old plates to make mosaics, attempts to grow things she can eat, and plays elabourate boardgames. When she is writing, it’s mostly slow-burn romcoms with yearning, banter and a sizzle. A hopeless romantic, she cannot get enough of that whooshing feeling you get from a significant look, a world-spinning kiss, or an accidental, mid-argument confession of love. The first novel she wrote was Jane Austen fan-fiction, the next ER fan-fiction, and that probably tells you everything you need to know!
You can find here here: https://amyblythe.com/
Bronwen Evans
USA Today Bestselling author, Bronwen Evans (Bron), loves story-telling – gobbling up movies, reading books and attending the theatre. Her head is always filled with characters and stories, particularly lovers in angst. Is it any wonder she’s a proud romance writer.
Bronwen’s first manuscript, INVITATION TO RUIN, was completed late 2009, and was sold to Kensington Publishing early 2010, in a two book deal. Her debut novel, INVITATION TO RUIN, received a 4.5 star rating from RT Book Reviews and was nominated in the RT Reviewer’s Choice Awards – Best First Historical. Invitation to Ruin also won the RomCon Readers Crown Best Historical 2012.
Bron’s since gone on to win the RomCon Readers Crown three times. Her first book in her Disgraced Lords series hit the USA Today bestsellers list and she has hit it several times since.
She lives in New Zealand in sunny Hawkes Bay with her two Cavoodles named Brandy and Duke.
You can find here here: https://www.bronwenevans.com/
Eileen Mueller
You fan find her here: https://www.eileenmuellerauthor.com/
Holly Dunn
Holly is a book cover designer who specialises in creating illustrated covers for independent authors. She’s worked with some of the biggest publishers in the business, including HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Pan Macmillan. Her truest joy is in helping indie authors realise the covers of their dreams.
You can find her here: https://www.hollydunndesign.com/
James Blatch
James Blatch is a former BBC Defence Reporter and a former BBFC Film Examiner. He reported for the BBC on the UK military from, among other places, HMS Invincible (Operation Desert Fox build up), Kuwait (Ali Al Salem allied air base), the Arctic Circle as well as covering the UK air offensive during the Kosovo Conflict in 1999… Blatch is a director of the Self Publishing Formula Limited, an online course provider for independent authors. He co-hosts the weekly SPF Podcast.
Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript into your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business – editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.
You can find him here: https://www.jamesblatch.com/
Lynda Tomalin
Along with publishing eight (nine by conference) books in three years, she is also the mother of three daughters and has a day job, so both time and mental capacity are limited. With a love of to-do lists and spreadsheets, she’s spent her entire publishing journey developing ways to streamline her author business so she can get back to the fun stuff: actually writing the books!
You can find her here: https://www.glitterinkpress.com/lynda-tomalin
Nat Connors
Nat Connors has been publishing genre fiction since 2016. He’s a fiction writer, medical scientist and dance teacher. Kindletrends started when he got fed up with trying to make sense of the Kindle Store, and wanted a compiled summary of the information important to his own writing. He shared it with author friends, and now he wants to share it with the author community as a whole. Kindletrends is a weekly research newsletter for self-published authors. Each week and month, subscribers get in-depth information summarising every aspect of their genre – blurbs, covers, titles and trends
Rosie Evelyn / Ruth James
Ruth James writes paranormal romance and mysteries as Rosie Evylin, and balances her creative work alongside her legal career, step motherhood, and business building. A certified coach and founder of the VIP (Values, Identity, Priorities) Framework, she works with ambitious women to build sustainable careers without sacrificing health or joy.
A dedicated runner and multi-passionate entrepreneur, Ruth understands firsthand the challenges of pursuing creative goals with a full life. She blends practical structure with thoughtful reflection, empathy, and infectious enthusiasm.
You can find her here: https://www.rosieevylin.com/
Sarah Williams
Bestselling romance author and CEO of Serenade Publishing, Sarah Williams writes emotionally rich love stories steeped in longing, music, and second chances.
Raised in rural New Zealand chasing sheep, riding horses, and picking kiwi fruit on her family orchard, Sarah’s love of wide-open spaces and heartfelt storytelling runs deep. After more than a decade of travel, she settled in Queensland, Australia, where she now lives in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, balancing family life with writing swoon-worthy romances that stay with readers long after the final page.
Her much-loved Australian set rural romance series Brigadier Station has captured hearts around the world and was brought to life in audio by Logie-nominated actor Myles Pollard (McLeod’s Daughters), adding an extra layer of heat and heart for listeners.
You can find her online at Sarah Williams
Shannon Curtis
Shannon Curtis is the award-winning, bestselling author of romantic suspense, paranormal romance and contemporary romance fiction. Shannon has written over fifteen novels for the US, UK, Canadian and AU/NZ home markets, as well as for The Bold & The Beautiful franchise, and her novels have won national and international awards. She’s shared her love of the craft of writing through teaching creative writing classes at Sydney Community College, Writing NSW, and various libraries, festivals and events.
You can find her online at: https://shannoncurtis.com/
The SPA Girls
Cheryl Phipps, Shar Barratt, Trudi Jaye, and Wendy Vella are the voices behind the SPA Girls Podcast. Since their first episode aired in 2015, they have delivered over 550 weekly episodes, and have built one of indie publishing’s most trusted free resources. They deliver weekly episodes packed with everything an indie author needs to know to succeed.
You can find them here: https://selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/
Vianne Max
You can find her online at:
Jenny Nagle
Jenny Nagle joined the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) as Chief Executive in June 2017. She represents NZSA at We Create and is a board member of The Coalition for Books. NZSA collaborates across the literary sector with other organisations and engages in advocacy work on issues that affect the incomes and visibility of NZ writers and writing.
Her career has spanned work in management, and sales and marketing in trade and educational publishing in both New Zealand and Australia. She joined Hodder & Stoughton’s educational division in NZ, before moving across the Tasman, first with Thomas Nelson as Marketing Manager for the Schools Division, and then back with Hodder as Marketing Director of the Trade Division, where they became HodderHeadline. Jenny was responsible for marketing and retail promotions, special sales, the wholesale division and Advance School Supplies. While in Australia Jenny served 4 elected years on the Australian Publishers’ Association Trade Book Marketing Committee (Life. Be In it/Reading campaigns; Copyright Law Review) and served 4 years on the Children’s Book Council NSW committee and handled marketing and sponsorship on the inaugural CBC National Conference committee.
Jenny has worked for Hodder & Stoughton, Thomas Nelson, HodderHeadline, School Supplies, Addenda, APN NZ (Kid’s Club) and the APA Small Publishers Association. Back in New Zealand, she founded Addenda in 1996 (NZ agency sales and marketing representation for small and independent publishers) and in 2002 purchased Addenda’s third-party distributor EDL from Boise Cascade which became PDL (sold 2004). Over the years she has attended international book fairs and worked with a host of writers for promotional tours and literary festivals. Jenny was part of the Storylines Management Committee 2017-8.
Addenda won The Best of the Bestsellers Award from Booksellers NZ in both 1998 and 1999, for the most appearances on the bestseller lists for Rich Dad, Poor Dad. She managed the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize Final Programme in NZ in 2009 and is a Director of the children’s and young adult press OneTree House, founded in 2017.
Ashley Andersen
Ashley is a New Zealand author who loves everything fantasy and romance. Ashley started as a book reviewer on her Instagram @ashs_reads and her TikTok @ashsreads where she has a collective following of over 200,000. Her debut novel, Malachite is an instant #1 NZ Fiction bestseller.
When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her wrangling her two lovely children, going on scenic walking tracks or curled up reading a tear-jerking, rip-your-heart-out book with an iced-coffee and her cats beside her.
Daniel Watterson
Daniel joined Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) in 2024 as the Contracts and Policy Manager. Daniel works across CLNZ’s projects, providing negotiation and contract support, ensuring good policy and legal compliance, and reviewing and developing policy to address modern legal and practical challenges and changes (like the impact of AI on creative rights). Before joining CLNZ, Daniel was a former Barrister and Crown Prosecutor at a top-tier law firm. As a senior legal advisor and well-regarded stage and screen actor, Daniel blends legal expertise and real-world industry acumen. He is the founder of W.E.L., which provides accessible legal services to the film, television, and gaming industries.