Cosmo Cosmolino

Helen Garner was born in 1942 in Geelong and educated at the University of Melbourne. She worked as a high school teacher until her first novel Monkey Grip was published in 1977. It was an instant success, winning a National Book Council award in 1978 and becoming a film in 1982. Since then she has written full-time, publishing novels, short stories, essays, journalism and long-form non-fiction. In 2006, Garner was awarded the Melbourne Prize for Literature, in 2016 the international Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction, in 2019 the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature and in 2020 the Lloyd O’Neil Award for Services to the Australian Book Industry at the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). Most recently, Garner was awarded the 2023 ASA Medal by the Australian Society of Authors for her outstanding contribution to Australian culture.

Kate Hood is one of Bolinda's most popular narrators and receives regular praise from listeners, authors and reviewers alike. Her seamless delivery and outstanding characterisations make the most extraordinary stories even more compelling. Kate has worked extensively in radio and in television both in Australia and New Zealand. Her theatre credits include Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Chicago and Sweet Charity. Bolinda audiobooks narrated by Kate include Tears of the Moon by Di Morrissey (winner of an AudioFile magazine Earphones Award), Turn Left at Bindi Creek by Lynne Wilding and Craft for a Dry Lake by Kim Mahood.