Current (Thoraval) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth— September 21, 1976
• Where—Holland, raised in Cyprus, Canada, and Australia
• Education—B.A., University of British Columbia; M.A., University of Melbourne
• Currently—lives in Melbourne, Australia


Yannick Thoraval is an author and university lecturer.

Best known as an essayist, Thoraval has published widely for both academic and general audiences.

He formally studied film, philosophy and American political history, attaining a Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne before leaving academia to pursue commercial writing interests. He worked as a copywriter in marketing and communications and as a speechwriter for the Victorian State Government.   

Thoraval’s fiction has received critical acclaim. His first screenplay, Kleftiko, was a finalist in the International Showcase Screenwriting Awards. Judges of the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, Australia, highly commended his first novel, The Current.

The novel draws from Thoraval’s personal and professional experiences of working in government, particularly his work in international development, including with the nation of Timor-Leste.

He is a career migrant and has lived in the Netherlands, France, Cyprus, Canada, and Australia. Moving internationally from a young age has left him feeling culturally stateless, despite holding three passports.

Thoraval is a quiet advocate for refugees and asylum seekers. He is a founding member of the World Writings Group, which helps refugees write about their experiences of forced migration.

He has pledged to donate 10% of the proceeds of his book to assist the settlement of asylum seekers and refugees.

He currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, where he teaches professional writing and editing at RMIT University. He is working on his second novel. (From the author.)

Visit the author's website.
Follow Yannick on Facebook.