Alan Cameron AO
Alan is an experienced company director and lawyer. He has served on boards of listed and unlisted companies as well as not-for-profit bodies for many years. Alan has delivered presentations on corporate governance and been involved in board reviews in commercial and not-for-profit contexts. He was previously Chair of the ASX Corporate Governance Council.
Alan taught law in Indonesia and worked at the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service prior to becoming a partner in a corporate law practice in Sydney. He was Commonwealth Ombudsman 1991-92, chairman of ASC and then ASIC from 1993 to 2000. Since then he has been a consultant and company director. He was formerly Chairperson of the NSW Law Reform Commission and Deputy Chancellor of the University of Sydney.
Currently he is Chair of the Code of Conduct Committee of the Australian Council for International Development, Independent Chair of the ASX Clearing and Settlement Advisory Group and an Independent Director of the listed company Nuix Ltd.
He has been an enthusiastic supporter and patron of the Festival for many years and was formerly the chair of the judging panel for the Ashurst Business Literature Prize.
Dr Christine Shamista Ratnasingham
Christine is a human rights practitioner with experience across not-for-profit, government and philanthropy organisations. She holds a Doctorate in Law and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in literary studies.
Her debut poetry collection, Soft Side of Red is recognised for its exploration of family, connection, romance and diversity. Her poems and prose have been published in a number of journals and anthologies.
Christine brings a passion for human rights, good governance, creativity, and championing diverse voices and stories to her role as Director of Sydney Writers’ Festival.
Dr Charlotte Wood AM
Charlotte Wood is one of Australia’s most high-profile literary authors, with 10 books to her name. Her most recent novel, Stone Yard Devotional, was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. It was described by the UK Guardian as ‘a quiet novel of immense power’, as ‘extraordinary’ by The Washington Post and ‘an exquisite, wrenching novel’ by The New York Times, also drawing praise from authors Anne Enright, Sigrid Nunez, Tim Winton, Paula Hawkins and others. Accolades for other books include the Stella Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. In 2023 Belvoir Theatre Company staged an adaptation of her novel The Weekend, and her novel The Natural Way of Things featured in ABC Television’s 2021 series ‘The Books That Made Us’. Several books are under development for film, television and stage adaptations.
Charlotte holds a PhD in creative writing from UNSW and has been a strong advocate for Australian literature and writers over many years, both formally and informally. In 2014 she was Chair of Arts Practice, Literature, at the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia), and in 2019 was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for Significant Services to Literature.