WIN $150 GIFT VOUCHERS: ALADDIN'S GOLD
Caleb Finn (Author) Caleb Finn is Australia's most-followed male content creator, with over 17 million fans worldwide. Known for his cinematic short horror films, Caleb is inspired by film, digital culture, body horror and liminal spaces. His fascination with creepypastas, urban legends found in the corners of the online world, motivated him to write his own collection of scary short stories. He documents his parenthood journey on his TikTok channel to millions of followers. Caleb lives in Melbourne with his partner and young child. Archives of Despair is his debut novel. Adam Parata (Illustrator) New Zealand born, Melbourne based artist Adam Parata is known for his atmospheric and thought-provoking work. Drawing inspiration primarily from life and the complexity of the human experience, Adam's handling of visual storytelling can be described as a dance of both literal and abstract forms to communicate simple and complex messages. This sensitive approach to handling form, detail, light and texture is where the magic lives, and it's through these focused sensibilities that Adam is able to create drama, story and atmosphere in his masterful work. Adam finds working with darker themes to be most thought-provoking, and what interests him the most about illustration is its ability to tell stories, share and communicate at scale. For me, the work should ideally transcend itself and become a portal to a story, an experience, another world, another time. This is the power of the arts; it's like magic. Growing up studying the masters, watching films, playing sport, obsessing over video games and building huts in the countryside of New Zealand has no doubt informed Adam's work. But it's this merging of a curious country boy feeding on the offerings of a modern city that continues to grow the fruits of Adam's labour.
