Thomas Keneally

Born in Sydney, the Australian writer Thomas Keneally grew up in the timber and dairy town of Kempsey, New South Wales. His father flew in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. As a teenager, Keneally entered the seminary to become a Catholic priest, but although he did become a deacon, he left before being ordained as a priest. In 1962, he published his first story, and he went on to publish over 50 books. Though Keneally is well-regarded as a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, his most famous work remains Schindler’s List, which was originally published as Schindler’s Ark in 1982 and then adapted into a critically acclaimed movie in 1993. Keneally lives with his wife in Sydney and has two daughters.