Maureen People grew up during World War II in country towns in New South Wales. She attended Sydney University, then worked for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. She began writing in 1976 - with one winning entries in the QANTAS/Bank of News South Wales International Story Competition. Since then her Stories, plays, and a television script have won other award including the National Short Story of the Year and the Henry Lawson Award for Prose. She is married, with two grown daughters, and now lives in Sydney.