Merlinda Bobis was born in the Philippines and taught for ten years at two universities and a tertiary college in Manila. She completed a Doctorate in Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, where she became a senior lecturer in Creative Writing.
Merlinda Bobis has published two novels, a short story collection, five poetry books, a monograph of lectures on writing a novel and various stories, poems, plays and articles in literary anthologies, journals and magazines. She has had dramatic works performed for both stage and radio in Australia, Philippines, France, China, Thailand and Slovakia. She is an accomplished performer of her own works, embodying text in theatre, music and dance. She has won more than a dozen national and international awards and fellowships for her writing.