AustLit

Peter Newall studied law at The University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales) in mid to late-1970s. After graduating he pursued a legal career that eventually saw him establish himself as a barrister. Newall was for many years associated with the Frederick Jordan Chambers in Sydney.

Aside from law, Newall's great passion has always been music, and indeed while working as a barrister he regularly travelled through eastern and central Europe during the Northern hemisphere winter visiting jazz clubs. He eventually left Australia to live in Odessa, Ukraine.

As a musician (bass player, singer and songwriter), Newall played in legendary Armidale punk band The Inmates during his student days. He has also played in bands in Sydney, Odessa, and more recently in Kyoto, Japan, where he now resides.

Newall began publishing short stories as early as 2008, and has since won several awards, including the 2008 National Jazz Writing Competition (Australia), and the 2017 Enizagam Journal (USA) short story competition.

In 2019, Newall was shortlisted for the David Harold Tribe Fiction Award for his unpublished manuscript Cherry Vareniki.