Kate Grenville

Kate Grenville was born in Sydney, Australia. She’s published eight books of fiction, including the multiple prize-winners ‘The Secret River’, ‘The Lieutenant’, ‘The Idea of Perfection’, and ‘Lilian’s Story’. She’s also published three books about the writing process that are classic texts for Creative Writing classes, and a memoir about the research and writing of ‘The Secret River’.

Grenville writes about Australia, but her themes are universal: love, violence, and survival. Her characters are often inspired by real historical characters: her own nineteenth century convict ancestor, an early Australian settler; a bag-lady on the streets of 1950s Sydney who quotes Shakespeare for a living; a soldier in the Sydney of 1788 who shares an extraordinary friendship of tenderness and respect with a young Aboriginal girl. Grenville’s international prizes include the Orange Award, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and a shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize.

Her books have been published all over the world and translated into many languages, and two have been made into feature films.