Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian novelist, children's book author, non-fiction author, and short story writer. The National Trust named him a Living Treasure in 1997, and he has received the Miles Franklin Award four times. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, and grew up in Bunbury, where his family moved when he was eight years old. He began writing stories when he was eleven or twelve years old and sold his first story while still a student at Christ Church College. After finishing school, he worked for a year as a park ranger on Kangaroo Island before going to university. While studying philosophy and English at the University of Adelaide, he also wrote stories on the side. In 1987, his collection of short stories, "Them And Us", was published to critical acclaim. That same year, he won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book from Australia. In 1990, he graduated with a master's degree and became a teacher. But he continued to write stories during this time too, publishing several novels between 1992 and 2001. His fourth book, "Half Light: A Novel", was published in 2003. It was followed by another novel, "A Place Called Tomorrow", in 2004 and then "We Need To Talk About Kevin" in 2005. In 2007, he returned to teaching but continues to write stories as well as teach. His latest book is called "The Riders".