He wrote comedy for radio station Triple J for two years and played in a variety of blues and rock bands before turning to writing fiction.

Harlen was the recipient of a Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts in 1996 [4] In the same year a play based on his novel The Lion And the Lamb toured high schools in Victoria.

In the 1990s and early 2000s his young adult novels regularly featured as set texts for Year 7-9 English students in Victoria and New South Wales.

in 2020 Harlen released an album of contemporary folk rock music,Field of Dreams, under the pseudonym Jack Straw.

Fellow band members include Matt Day (guitar), James Pattugalan (drums) and Luke Ferguson (bass).