Peter Carey, author, was born on 7 May 1943 at Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. He was educated at Bacchus Marsh State School from 1948 to 1953, then boarded at Geelong Grammar from 1954 to 1960. Carey enrolled in organic chemistry and zoology at Monash University in 1961 but after a car crash that same year he ended his schooling and worked as an office clerk and executive assistant for a Melbourne advertising agency. He wrote fiction at night and weekends and in 1974 was successful in getting his first work published. This was the short story collection The fat man in history. In 1980 he and Bani McSpedden opened McSpedden Carey Advertising. Carey sold his share of the business in 1990 and moved to New York. He has lived in Melbourne, London, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Yandina (Queensland), Bellingen (New South Wales) and New York. Carey has been awarded honorary degrees and has won numerous literary awards.

Alison Summers is a writer, freelance journalist, editor and theatre director.