george megalogenis
journalist and author

George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with more than three decades’ experience in the media. His book The Australian Moment won the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and later formed the basis of the ABC documentary series Making Australia Great.

He has written three previous Quarterly Essays, including Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era, Balancing Act: Australia Between Recession and Renewal and Exit Strategy: Politics After the Pandemic. His other books include Faultlines, The Longest Decade, Australia’s Second Chance and The Football Solution.

George has presented at the Hawke Centre previously, including an in conversation with South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas (2024) a discussion on his Quarterly Essay: Minority Report, The New Shape of Australian Politics and his book The Football Solution (2018).

X: @GMegalogenis

TORY SHEPHERD
JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR

Tory Shepherd is a senior reporter for Guardian Australia, a freelance writer, and the author of On Freedom. After finishing Honours in Anthropology and a Masters in Communication, she ended up as a ‘mature-age’ cadet at the paper 15 years ago. She is a Walkley Award judge and a Churchill Fellow.

Tory Shepherd hosted the Just A Thought series as part of the the Hawke Centre's program in 2020, including: The Truth of the Palace Letters, Poverty: Where To Draw The Line, In-Conversation WIth Senator The Hon Penny Wong, John Keane: Dictators, Despotism and Democracy, How To Be A Star Citizen, and Slaves In The System. She has also been in conversation with Gill Hicks AM MBE (2021). 

X: @ToryShepherd