Garth Nix was born in 1963 and grew up in Canberra, Australia. After taking his degree in professional writing from the University of Canberra, he slowly sank into the morass of publishing industry, steadily devolving from sales rep through publicist, until in 1991 he became a senior editor witha major multinational publisher. After a period in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia in 1993, he left publishing to work as a marketing communications consultant. In 1999, he waas lured back to the publishing world to become a part-time literary agent. He now lives in Sydney, five-minute walk from Coogee Beach, with his wife, Anna, and lots of books.