Gail Jones is one of Western Australia’s most celebrated and awarded writers. She is the author of ten novels and two short story collections.
Gail’s first work, a short story collection titled The House of Breathing, won the Hungerford Award for unpublished work in 1991 and went on to win the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Fiction in 1993.
Since then, she has received accolades and critical acclaim for her body of work and mastery of language. Three-times shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Fiction, Gail has been longlisted for the Booker and Orange prizes (UK) and won many other awards.
Her work has been published internationally, translated into around 15 languages and is taught in Europe, the UK, Canada, Japan, the United States, Argentina and China. She describes herself as a writer of ideas.
Gail grew up in regional Western Australia, including Harvey, Broome and Kalgoorlie.
Gail has made a significant teaching contribution locally and nationally. She did a PhD at The University of Western Australia where she became Professor of Writing and was known as a caring and remarkable lecturer. Gail now lives in Sydney. She is Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University and writes full-time.