Gary Crew was born on September 23, 1947 in Brisbane, Australia. He left school at age 16 to become a cadet Civil Engineering Draftsman. He graduated from the Queensland Institute of Technology and worked in a drawing office for ten years as a design draftsman. He became bored and decided to try teaching. He received a master's degree in literature at Queensland University and became a teacher in 1974. He taught English at various high schools in Brisbane. Crew began writing fiction in 1985. Because of his teaching background and his own teenage children, he decided to write for children and young adults. He won the Children's Book Council Book of the Year four times - twice for his young… adult novels, Strange Objects in 1991 and Angel's Gate in 1993, and twice for his illustrated books, First Light in 1993 and The Watertower in 1994. His other works include The Viewer, Mama's Babies, and The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie. He also writes crime and science-fiction short stories for both young adult and adult audiences. His other awards include the National Children's Book Award, the NSW and Victorian Premiers' Awards, and the Ned Kelly Award for crime fiction.