Molly Schmidt is a writer and journalist from the coastal town of Albany, Western Australia. An only child, she grew up roaming paddocks and climbing paperbark trees on Menang Noongar country. Storytelling has been part of Molly’s world since she could speak. When she was ten years old, her father lost his battle with terminal cancer. Molly began writing to process this loss, and through written word has found healing, growth and her life path. Throughout both her journalism career and novel writing practice, Molly is passionate about producing stories that are inclusive of all members of her community. While writing Salt River Road, she collaborated with Noongar Elders from Albany, with the goal of producing a novel that actively pursues reconciliation between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal peoples. Molly completed a thesis on the topic at Curtin University in 2021, supervised by Professor Kim Scott and Dr Brett D’Arcy, for which she received First Class Honours. This novel, Salt River Road, is the recipient of the 2022 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. By day, Molly works as a radio producer and journalist for the ABC, where her passion for storytelling is put to good use. Drawn to the coast, Molly now lives in Fremantle where she enjoys free time wandering the beach and local coffee shops with her dog, Rupi.