Rory Barnes was born in London in 1946, but has lived most of his life in Australia. In the 1960s he studied Philosophy at Monash University, where he fell in with the likes of Damien Broderick. In the 1970s he worked in schools, universities and institutes of technology.

In the 1980s he became a professional writer and has been one ever since. Barnes is the author, or co-author of various novels for both adults and teenagers. The Horsehead Trilogy is well worth reading, as are his other books, but these have a tendency to out-of-printness, so you might be pushing it.

In 2001 Barnes took up a two year grant provided by the Australia Council, and for this he is truly grateful. With luck and hard work he might just manage to write the inordinate number of books he promised the Council he would in his letter of application.

Biography provided by the author, October 2001