David Malouf

David Malouf was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1934, one of two children. From his early years, Malouf was an avid reader, tackling such difficult works as Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights by the age of 12. He grew up in Australia and graduated from the University of Queensland in 1955. He spent several years working as a professor at his alma matter before relocating to London, where he lectured at several universities until 1968. After that, Malouf returned to Australia to lecture at the University of Sydney, where he stayed for another decade before resigning to become a full-time writer. Malouf published his fist novel, a semi-autobiographical story about growing up in Brisbane titled Johnno, while still teaching in Sydney in 1975. It sold well and received a theatrical adaptation in 2004. In 1978, he followed up with his tale of the the Roman poet Ovid’s exile, An Imaginary Life, which critics praised for its style and execution. Throughout the 1980s, Malouf published several prize-winning novels and short stories about Australia, and developed several theater productions as well. In 1993, Malouf published Remembering Babylon, a novel about Scottish homesteaders settling in Australia and struggling against their own racism and fears. The novel won a long list of accolades, including the notable Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and made the short-list for the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction. Malouf continued writing until 2018 when he announced his retirement, leaving behind a prolific legacy of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, plays, poetry volumes, and opera librettos. Malouf lives a private life in Sydney.