Gerald Murnane was born in Melbourne in 1939. He has been a primary teacher, an editor and a university lecturer.

His debut novel, Tamarisk Row (1974), was followed by nine other works of fiction, including The Plains (now available as a Text Classic) and most recently A Million Windows.

In 1999 Murnane won the Patrick White Award and in 2009 he won the Melbourne Prize for Literature. His memoir Something for the Pain won the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Award for non-fiction. He lives in western Victoria.