Peter Carey (novelist)

Peter Carey is a famous writer. He writes long stories called novels. He was born in Australia. Later, he moved to New York City.

He has won many big prizes. One prize is called the Booker Prize. He is one of only five people to win it twice. This is a very big deal.

He also won the Miles Franklin Award three times. He worked in ads before he was a full-time writer. He even taught writing at a college.

He has lived in many different lands. He has lived in London too. He likes to write about many places. He is a very skilled storyteller.

Peter Carey is a famous novelist from Australia. He is a very skilled writer. He has won the Booker Prize twice. This is a very rare feat. Only five writers have won this prize two times. He won his first in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda. He won his second in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang.

Carey has also won the Miles Franklin Award three times. Before he was a full-time writer, he worked in advertising. He helped make ads for cars and wine. These jobs helped him meet older writers. They taught him a lot about books.

In 1990, Carey moved to New York City. He took a job teaching writing at a college. He lived in many places like London and Sydney. His stories often look at the link between Australia and America.

Carey once wrote a musical called Illusion. He also helped write a film script. In 2025, he said he is finished with writing novels. He plans to keep writing non-fiction stories instead.

Peter Carey is a famous Australian novelist. He is known for his incredible skill with words. He is one of only five writers to win the Booker Prize twice. This is a very special achievement in the world of books. He won his first prize in 1988 for his book Oscar and Lucinda. He won his second prize in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang.

Before he was a famous author, Carey worked in advertising. He worked for different agencies in Melbourne between 1962 and 1967. He helped make ads for Volkswagen cars and Lindeman's wine. This job was very important for his future. It helped him meet older writers who taught him about books. He learned a lot from people like Barry Oakley.

Carey's journey as a writer took him to many places. He was born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, in 1943. He studied chemistry and zoology at Monash University for a short time. Later, he lived in London and traveled through Iran and Europe. In 1990, he moved to New York City. There, he taught creative writing at New York University for many years.

His books often explore big ideas about different lands. He often writes about the link between Australia and America. For example, his book The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith looks at these two places. He also wrote a book called Parrot and Olivier in America. He even wrote a musical called Illusion for the Adelaide Festival of the Arts.

Carey has received many honors for his work. He has won the Miles Franklin Award three times. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2025, he shared some news about his future. He said he is finished with writing novels. He still wants to write non-fiction stories.

Peter Philip Carey is a celebrated Australian novelist. He is widely recognized for his literary skill and complex storytelling. Carey achieved a rare feat in the literary world. He is one of only five writers to win the Booker Prize twice. This prestigious award honors the best books written in English. He won his first Booker Prize in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda. He won his second in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang.

Carey's early life in Australia shaped his path toward writing. He was born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, in 1943. His parents operated a car dealership called Carey Motors. He attended Bacchus Marsh State School and later Geelong Grammar School. In 1961, he enrolled at Monash University in Melbourne. He studied chemistry and zoology, which are the scientific study of substances and animals. However, a car accident and a loss of interest caused him to leave his studies early. During this university period, he met his first wife, Leigh Weetman.

Before becoming a famous novelist, Carey worked in the advertising industry. He worked for various agencies in Melbourne from 1962 to 1967. His work included creating campaigns for Volkswagen and Lindeman's Wine. This career provided a vital education for his future as an author. He met older writers like Barry Oakley and Morris Lurie through his jobs. Carey credited Oakley with helping him develop his life as a writer. While working in advertising, he read authors like James Joyce and Franz Kafka.

Carey's early writing career involved much trial and error. Between 1964 and 1971, he wrote five unpublished novels. These included Titles such as Contacts and The Futility Machine. He also wrote twenty-one short stories during this time. Many of these early manuscripts are now kept at the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland. In the late 1960s, Carey and Weetman traveled through Europe and Iran. They eventually settled in London in 1968. There, he continued to write advertising copy and unpublished fiction.

Carey returned to Australia in 1970 and began to find success. He published his first collection of short stories, The Fat Man in History, in 1974. In 1976, he joined an alternative community named Starlight in Yandina, Queensland. He lived there with his partner, the painter Margot Hutcheson. While living in Yandina, he wrote most of the stories for War Crimes, published in 1979. His first published novel, Bliss, arrived in 1981. This era of his life culminated with the international success of Oscar and Lucinda in 1988.

In 1990, Carey moved to New York City with his wife, Alison Summers. He took a position teaching creative writing at New York University. He served as the executive director of the Master of Fine Arts program at Hunter College for nineteen years. His writing often explores the relationship between Australia and America. He used his novel The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith to examine these two nations. Later, he wrote Parrot and Olivier in America, which was inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville. Even while living in America, he continued to set many stories in Australia.

Carey has received numerous prestigious honors throughout his career. He has won the Miles Franklin Award three times. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2025, Carey announced a major change in his professional life. He stated that he is finished with writing novels. He explained that he no longer felt the same passion or compulsion to complete long fiction projects. However, he expressed a desire to continue writing non-fiction.