Steven Conte

Steven Conte (born 1966) is an Australian novelist who won the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction in 2008 for his novel The Zookeeper's War. His fiction has been published in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland, as well as in translation in Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

Early life Steven Conte was born in Sydney and raised in the town of Guyra in New South Wales. He was educated at The Armidale School (TAS) in Armidale, New South Wales, and at the University of Canberra. In 1993 he completed a Masters degree in Australian Literature as a civilian at the Australian Defence Force Academy (University of NSW, Canberra). He also holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne.

Personal life Conte lives in the town of Koroit in south-west Victoria. He is the parent of a son with non-verbal autism.