Christos Tsiolkas is an author, playwright, essayist and screen writer. He was born and grew up in Melbourne. His parents are Greek immigrants and he is openly gay.

Christos is the author of five novels. The Jesus Man and Dead Europe won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award.

He won Overall Best Book in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2009, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award, longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and won the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal for his novel, The Slap, which was also announced as the 2009 Australian Booksellers Association and Australian Book Industry Awards Books of the Year.