Vivienne Cleven was born in 1968 in Surat and grew up in western Queensland, homeland of her Aboriginal heritage. She left school at thirteen-years-of-age to work with her father as a jillaroo- building fences, mustering cattle, and working at various jobs on stations throughout Queensland and New South Wales. Her novel, Bitin' Back, won the David Unaipon Award in 2000, and was shortlisted for the Courier-Mail Book of the Year Award and the South Australian Premier's Award for Fiction in 2002. Her second novel Her Sister's Eye was published in 2002 and was chosen for the 2003 People's Choice shortlist of One Book One Brisbane. In demand at literary events and workshops, Vivienne has published articles and fiction in anthologies, magazines and journals.