Peter Goldsworthy

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Peter Goldsworthy (born 1951) is one of Australia's most prominent authors, having won awards for works from a wide variety of genres including short story, poetry, the novel, and opera.

He grew up in various Australian country towns, finishing his schooling in Darwin in the Northern Territory. Since graduating in medicine from the University of Adelaide, he has divided his working time between general practice and writing.

His best-selling novels have been translated into many European and Asian languages. His first novel Maestro has recently been reissued as part of the Angus & Robertson Australian Classics series. It is currently in development as a movie, as is Honk If You Are Jesus. His novels Wish, Honk If You Are Jesus, and Three Dog Night are also being adapted for the stage, the first of these, Honk, to be premiered by the State Theatre of South Australia in its 2006 season.

Among his numerous literary awards are the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the FAW Christina Stead Award, and the Australian Bicentennial Literary Prize for Poetry in 1988. His New Selected Poems has recently been published in Australia and the UK; his Collected Stories appeared in Australia in 2004.

His poetry has been set to music by leading Australian composers including Graeme Koehne, Richard Mills, and Matthew Hindson. He wrote the libretti for the Richard Mills operas, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Batavia, the latter winning Mills and Goldsworthy the 2002 Robert Helpmann Awards for Best Opera and Best New Australian Work. Its Sydney premiere at the Sydney Opera House on 19 August 2006 was conducted by the composer and attended by the librettist.