Thomas (Tom) Keneally was born in Sydney in 1935. Of Irish descent, he trained for several years for the Catholic priesthood but did not take orders. He worked as a school teacher, clerk and drama teacher. In the mid-1960s Keneally embarked on an extraordinary career as a writer, with remarkable success in Australia and overseas. He has won many prestigious literary awards. He won the Booker Prize in 1982 and has won the Miles Franklin Award twice.
