Vivienne Cleven was born in l968 in Surat, Queensland, and grew up in western Queensland, homeland of her Aboriginal heritage. She left school at the age of thirteen to work with her father as a jillaroo: building fences, mustering cattle, and working at various jobs on stations throughout Queensland and New South Wales.

In 2000, with the manuscript Bitin' Back, Vivienne Cleven entered and won the David Unaipon Award. Published the following year, Bitin' Back was shortlisted in the 2002 (READ MORE...)