Emma Bennison is a passionate advocate for artists experiencing disability and disadvantage. Currently the Executive Officer at Access Arts Queensland, Emma combines her experience as a musician and performer with her experience of disability to lead an organisation whose vision is that all Queenslanders are free to participate, create and work in the arts.

Emma contributed to the panel discussion Access and Accessibility.

Emma Bennison from if:book Australia on Vimeo.

Jeremy LeBard is the CEO and Co-Founder of ReadCloud. Jeremy was highlighted in 2008 as a Digital Young Gun by B&T’s Digital Magazine which described him as one of the ‘rising stars of the new digital economy’. ReadCloud has created the world’s first social eReading software designed for schools where educators and students can share text, picture or video annotations within eBooks. ReadCloud is recognised as one of 23 top technologies in Australia by the Tech23 conference and as one of seven leading innovations nationally by the University of Queensland Enterprize competition.

Jeremy LeBard from if:book Australia on Vimeo.

Jon Page is the General Manger of Pages & Pages Booksellers, an Independent Bookshop in Mosman, NSW . His parents opened Pages & Pages in 1995 in Belrose and Jon has worked at the shop since then. The shop opened in Mosman in 1999 and closed the Belrose store in 2003.

In 2008 Jon was elected to the board of the Australian Booksellers Association and became Vice President in 2009. In 2010, he was elected President of the ABA. Jon is @PnPBookseller on twitter.

Jon Page from if:book Australia on Vimeo.

Judith is the Learning and Study Support Coordinator at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Library, Brisbane. This portfolio brings together services that support student learning in information literacy (information/research skills) and academic literacy (academic/study skills). Judith actively contributes to the professional scholarship, policy and practice of information literacy via scholarly publication and national and international committee representation and consultancies. Judith received a 2008 national Australian Learning and Teaching Council Teaching Award for “Programs that Enhance Learning” and a Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning in 2007.

Judith contributed to the panel discussion Literacy Beyond the Printed Page with Andrew Gibbs and Judith Hewitson.

Judith Peacock from if:book Australia on Vimeo.

Andrew is creative director of creative and social enterprise, Human Ventures. With a background in the audiovisual world, Andrew has extensive experience managing creative projects specifically in the realm of digital and community arts. He has a particular love for video projection and clever audiovisual installations. Since joining Human in 2007, Andrew has delivered numerous programs in communities across regional Queensland including Blackall, Longreach, Hopevale, Darnley Island and Innisfail. Forever interested in the ways technology and the arts can benefit communities, he loves to travel and produce audiovisual artworks.

Andrew contributed to the panel session Literacy Beyond the Printed Page with Judith Hewitson and Judith Peacock.

Andrew Gibbs from if:book Australia on Vimeo.

Chris Meade is Director of if:book London. He was previously CEO of Booktrust, the national charity responsible for the Bookstart scheme and a range of literary prizes and projects. From 1993-2000 he was Director of the Poetry Society where he set up the Poetry Cafe and Poetry Places, a national programme of residencies and commissions described by Andrew Motion as ‘a modern miracle’.

The Independent on Sunday called his digital novella www.insearchoflosttim.net “a jeu d’esprit and, just possibly, the future of fiction.” Chris has an MA in Creative Writing & New Media and recently appeared in a debate on the future of the book on Radio 3′s Night Waves.

Chris contributed (via Skype) to the panel discussion Libraries and Digital Heritage with Rory McLeod and Peter Brantley.

Chris Meade from if:book Australia on Vimeo.