Ken Chan was born in Shanghai and moved to Australia as a young child. However, his father’s family had already been living in Australia for four generations. He has a PHD in Political Studies and a PHD in Creative Writing. He worked as a diplomat, was administrator of the Cocos Islands and was a member of the Refugee Review Tribunal. He has taught Creative Writing and Communication Studies at the University of Canberra - Foundation Studies and Australian National University Tech. Apart from writing fiction he has also written about contested identities, belonging and otherness in Australia.