Kristy Nita Brown is an emerging Junior Fiction author who independently publishes books. Embracing the role of writer, publisher, marketer, and distributor, her debut title, Looking for Lily, was shortlisted for the 2023 West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award and won second place in the 2022 Children and Young Adult Aspiring Authors Competition in the chapter book category. Her subsequent work, Mavey and Beth’s Double Act: Where’s My Whistle? won fourth place in the 2023 edition of the same competition. Beyond her writing, Kristy is a seasoned teaching artist and TAFE lecturer who runs creative writing and filmmaking workshops in community libraries and schools. In 2024, funded by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, Kristy and award-winning illustrator Sean E Avery launch the Book Builder’s Challenge, a program that goes beyond the development of practical writing skills and engages young people in book illustration, editing, printing, publishing, marketing and distribution. Kristy is also a participant in the 2024 Path to Published mentorship program with Sasha Wasley, the SEW Arts teaching artists training program, and Form’s Creative Schools program as a creative practitioner. Kristy holds a Bachelor of Education, training in Instructional Intelligence, and a Bachelor of Media Studies majoring in film and television production.