John Marsden has written more than 40 books, including Tomorrow, When the War Began, So Much to Tell You, and The Art of Growing Up. He has sold over five million books worldwide, and has won every major award in Australia for young people's fiction. South of Darkness, written for adults, won the Christina Stead Award for Best Novel of 2015.

John's passionate interest in education led him to start two schools: Candlebark, on a vast forested estate near Romsey, Victoria, and Alice Miller, at Macedon, a Year 7-12 school with a particular emphasis on the creative arts. The two schools enrol 400 students in 2021.