Peter Carey is a renowned Australian novelist and writer of short stories, born on May 7, 1943, in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia. He attended the local state school until the age of eleven and was later a boarder at Geelong Grammar School from 1954 to 1960. In 1961, Carey briefly studied science at Monash University before pursuing a career in advertising, where he discovered writers such as Faulkner, Joyce, and Kerouac.

Carey's literary career is distinguished by his winning the prestigious Booker Prize twice, with his novels Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang. These achievements place him alongside literary giants such as J.M. Coetzee. His works are celebrated for their rich narratives and complex characters.