Tim Winton was born in Perth in 1960. He is the author of fifteen books, including novels, a collection of stories, non-fiction and books for children. He has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize twice, for The Riders (1995) and Dirt Music (2002).
Tim Winton has published twenty-one books for adults and children, and his work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). Active in the environmental movement, he is the Patron of the Australian Marine Conservation Society. He lives in Western Australia.