Jean Kent grew up in rural Queensland and now lives at Lake Macquarie, NSW. Eight books of her poetry have been published: the most recent are THE HOUR OF SILVERED MULLET (Pitt Street Poetry, 2015) and PARIS IN MY POCKET (PSP, 2016). Her awards include the Anne Elder Prize, Dame Mary Gilmore Award, Wesley Michel Wright Prize and—before her first book was published—the 1988 National Library Prize, which she won jointly with John Foulcher. Her new book, THE SHADOW BOX, published by Pitt Street Poetry, will be launched at the festival by John Foulcher.