Finola Moorhead was born in 1947 in Mornington, Victoria into a Catholic family with Socialist leanings. Raised by a single mother, with two older sisters and a brother, she attended boarding school before applying to the University of Melbourne. After starting a Law degree Finola transferred to the University of Tasmania in the midst of Vietnam War protests, where she was taught by James McAuley and tutored by Margaret Scott. In 1972 Finola attended the Adelaide Writer’s Festival and met renowned authors Judith Wright and Roger McKnight. Inspired, she decided to become a writer herself and upon completing her first story and play, sent them off to The Herald Short Story Competition and The Australian National Playwright’s Conference Competition, both of which she won. Deciding at this point that she preferred writing to teaching, Finola then travelled around Australia spending time with writers such as Dorothy Hewett, before accepting a position on Meanjin magazine, where she worked alongside A.A Phillips and Clem Christesen.

She is a playwright, a poet, has written articles and short stories, and published five books under her own name, as well as appearing in anthologies and journals. Her books include: A Handwritten Modern Classic (1985), Quilt (1985), Remember the Tarantella (1987), Still Murder (1991/2002), Darkness More Visible (2000) and a collection of poetry, My Voice (2006). She is the author of three plays, Curtain Raiser, Horses and It Might As Well Be Loneliness.