Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia in 1949. He has published 15 books of poetry and prose. Awards include Captain Cook Bi-Centennial Award, Grace Leven Poetry Prize, Henry Lawson Short Story Award. His works include Immigrant Chronicle andThe Sparrow Garden (published in 2004).

In 1989, he received the Order of Cultural Merit from the Polish Government and in 2002 the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Peter is an associate professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Western Sydney.