Andrew McGahan was born in Dalby, Queensland, but he has lived and worked most of his life in Brisbane. His first novel Praise, published in 1992, was winner of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award. His second novel was the prequel 1988 and his third novel, Last Drinks was published in 2000. It was shortlisted for multiple awards, including The Age Book of the year and The Courier Mail Book of the year, and won a Ned Kelly award for crime writing. The White Earth was published in 2004 and won The Age Book of the Year, the Courier Mail Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards that same year. In 2005, The White Earth was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the South East Asia and South Pacific region.