Dr Karen Downing
Marketing executive-turned-historian Karen Downing completed her PhD in History at the Australian National University in 2011. Karen is the author of Restless Men: Masculinity and Robinson Crusoe, 1788–1840 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). She has published peer-reviewed articles in History Australia, Men and Masculinities and Australian Journal of Politics and History and delivered papers in Australia and the UK. Her research focusses on masculinities and histories of emotion.
Dr Jane Downing
Jane is an award-winning poet and fiction writer, an editor, anthologist, and academic. She is the author of two novels, The Trickster (Pandanus Press, 2003) and The Lost Tribe (Pandanus Press, 2005). She was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2016. Her poetry and prose have been featured in The Big Issue, Grapple Annual and Best Australian Poetry. Jane has co-edited collections and anthologies, including Murray Time: An illustrated progressive novel (Letao Press, 2004). Jane holds a Doctorate of Creative Arts from the University of Technology.