Bethany Loveridge is a passionate educator and children’s author-illustrator who has always loved storytelling and the natural world. Her past jobs include youth worker, film, TV and visual art teacher, curriculum specialist and museum nerd (not the official title).
Bethany is the author of Harper Wells: Renegade Timeline Officer (first in a MG trilogy), Genie Snail and Josie Mack and the MEGA Division (first in a JF trilogy), with more titles scheduled for late 2026, 2027 and beyond.
When she’s not writing or teaching in a secondary classroom, Bethany is Publisher at Perentie Press, an independent Australian publisher of graphic novels for kids. She is also the state director of the Queensland branch of SCBWI Australia East and enjoys supporting Queensland's burgeoning children's literature community.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
Tina is my Literary Fairy Godmother and I can correlate most of my literary success with a CYA moment or connection.
It's because of 'good vibes' during a CYA2024 assessment that I signed my middle grade trilogy (that I'd polished with CYA2023 assessments), my junior fiction trilogy (the first of which placed third in the CYA comp in 2023), a picture book, a teen novella, and subsequently started a publishing house.
It's because of a story I polished at a CYA2024 bootcamp (which placed first in the CYA2024 comp) that I signed with my dream agent and connected with another important publisher (big news - can't say yet).
I've made friends and literary family by attending the conferences for the last few years. I've formed amazing critique-groups with interstate and international creators. These are people who understand my highs and lows because they also put their whole hearts into their storytelling (and refresh their inboxes way too many times waiting for that email). Book people are the best people and CYA is an absolutely iconic event that brings us all together.
Thanks, CYA!
