About The Author

Alan Sampson has spent a lifetime devoted to both learning and adventure. After decades in education moving from classroom teacher to high school principal to senior supervisor of schools he’s now happily retired and filling his days with travel and writing. Alan has called some of Australia’s most striking landscapes home, from North Queensland to the Torres Strait to Margaret River, and each place has left its imprint on his stories. He’s an enthusiastic waterman at heart, equally at home surfing, spearfishing, kayaking, rowing, or exploring the underwater world through photography he even won an Australian Title in still-water rowing. Introduced to surfing by his own sons, he’s since chased waves from Costa Rica to the Philippines to Hawaii and all along the Australian coast. Alongside his career, Alan has written school textbooks, award-winning memoirs, and fiction, including Schools of Fish, honoured with a prize at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. He’s also the proud father of four children, and it’s clear that curiosity, adventure, and a love of place run through everything he does.