Philip McLaren (born 1943) is anAboriginal Australian author and academic known for literary fiction, detective stories and thrillers.
McLaren is an Aboriginal Australian of theKamilaroi people. Both of his parents, who have some Scottish heritage, are fromCoonabarabran,New South Wales.[1] He was born inRedfern, Sydney.[2]
He holds a Doctor of Creative Arts degree.[3]
He has worked in a range of occupations, including as an illustrator, designer, animator, sculptor,copywriter and creative director in television, advertising and film production companies. Over a period of 12 years he lived and worked in Canada, USA, England, New Zealand and the Bahamas.[2]
He has delivered lectures or readings at a range of institutions and festivals across the world, including theUniversity of Alberta in Canada; theUniversity of Sydney;National Library of Australia;State Library of New South Wales;Melbourne Writers Festival;Adelaide Writers' Week;Sydney Writers' Festival;Byron Bay Writers Festival; New Zealand's inauguralToi Maori Festival; and was invited by theGoethe-Institut to speak at their inaugural Writers’ Festival at theHaus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.[4]
McLaren was a member of the working party involved in the creation of theFirst Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN) in 2012.[5]
He has worked as a lecturer atSouthern Cross University.[2][3]
He lived in theByron Bay area ofNew South Wales as of 2009.[2]
McLaren is known for literary fiction, detective stories and thrillers. He has also written non-fiction, social commentary, screenplays and academic essays.[6] Four of his novels have been translated and distributed internationally.[7]
Coolabah is the official journal of the Observatori: Centre d' Estudis Australians i Transnacionals / The Australian and Transnational Studies Centre at the Universitat de Barcelona.
