Nicholas Jose is a novelist, essayist, and playwright, whose thirteen books include the novels Paper Nautilus, Avenue of Eternal Peace (shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award), The Custodians (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize), Original Face and, most recently The Idealist published in 2023 and shortlisted for the Age Book of the Year Award. He is also the author of two short story collections, a volume of essays, Chinese Whispers, and the memoir Black Sheep.

He has also served as Chair of Creative Writing at Adelaide University, Visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University, and is a past president of International PEN Sydney. He is Adjunct Professor in the Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University and Emeritus Professor of English and Creative Writing at The University of Adelaide.