Peter Helliar is the best-selling author of the Frankie Fish series for children, as well as one of Australia's favourite comedians. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and three kids, and currently co-hosts the award-winning news and current affairs program The Project on Network Ten. He plans on being the first human to travel back in time.

Since first appearing on Rove Live in the late 90s, Helliar’s extraordinary entertainment and comedy career has spanned everything from radio to screenwriting, producing and co-starring in feature films (I Love You Too) and television series (It’s a Date), as well as creating a beloved AFL sensation in his alter-ego Bryan ‘Strauchanie’ Strauchan. Helliar’s most recent comedy tour, One Hot Mess, sold out shows in Australia and New Zealand. His new family comedy show, Better Books, is on tour now.

Matt was born in Sydney, Australia and now resides in Melbourne. Sandwiched between the bush and beach, the inspiration for his short stories comes from a love of his unique country. His early fascination for the combination of words and pictures saw him complete a Bachelor of Design at the University of Sydney in 2003.

It took him 10 years while working as a Creative Director at some of Melbourne’s best design agencies to realise that this ‘watercolour hobby’ of his needed to be shared with more than just his wife and cat.

Simplicity, humour and the art of the unseen are strong themes in Matt’s illustration work. With his strong understanding of the commercial aspects of the business from a career in design, he is a uniquely creative and pragmatic artist. He loves to work collaboratively and iteratively to achieve the best result for the audience.  

Matt has previously illustrated for Papyrus greeting cards. He’s currently working on books for children with the wonderful people at Scholastic Australia and HarperCollins Australia.

Matt is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and The Australian Society of Authors. For books, he is represented by the lovely Margaret Connolly.