RICHARD FLANAGAN was born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961. His novelsDeath of a River Guide, The Sound of One Hand Clapping and Gould s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish (winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Overall Best Book)have been published in 26 countries. He also directed the feature film of The Sound of One Hand Clapping and most recently collaborated with director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) on the screenplay of Luhrmann s forthcoming epic, Australia.