Biography of Peter Goldsworthy

Peter Goldsworthy was born October 12, 1951, in Minlaton, South Australia. He grew up in various country towns in Australia, finishing his schooling in Darwin, and then attending the University of Adelaide for medicine. After graduating in 1974, he began working in alcohol and drug rehabilitation. He now splits his time between general practice and writing.

Goldsworthy published his first book, Maestro, in 1989. He has published six other novels: Magpie (1992), Honk If You are Jesus (1992), Wish (1995), Keep it Simple, Stupid (1996), Three Dog Night (2003), and Everything I Knew (2008). In addition, Goldsworthy has published six poetry collections and six collections of short stories, and he wrote the libretti for the Richard Mills operas, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Batavia. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Robert Helpmann Award for Best Opera and Best New Australian Work for Batavia, and most recently, in 2010, a Medal of Australia for services to literature.