Peter Yeldham's extensive writing career began with short stories, radio scripts and a column for a weekly magazine. He spent twenty years in England, becoming a leading screenwriter for films and television, and also wrote plays for the theatre, including the highly successful comedies Birds on the Wing and Fringe Benefits. Since returning to Australia he has won numerous awards for his miniseries, among them 1915, Captain James Cook, The Alien Years, All the Rivers Run, The Timeless Land and The Heroes. His adaptation of Bryce Courtenay's novel Jessica won a Logie Award for best mini-series. He is the author of ten novels, including Barbed Wire and Roses, The Murrumbidgee Kid, The Currency Lads, Against the Tide, Land of Dreams and A Distant Shore.