Kate Jennings, a poet, essayist, and novelist, grew up in the Australian Outback. She attended the University of Sydney in the late 1960s, where she gained notoriety as a feminist activist. She moved to New York City in 1979. Her novel Snake was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, as was Moral Hazard, which was based on her experiences as a Wall Street speech-writer. Her work has been in contention for the Booker, IMPAC, and Los Angeles Times literary prizes. In her native country, she has won the prestigious Christina Stead and Adelaide Festival prizes and was honored with the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal.