Kenneth Bernard Cook (5 May 1929 – 18 April 1987)[1] was an Australian journalist,[2] television documentary maker, and novelist best known for his works Wake in Fright, which is still in print five decades after its first publication,[3] and the humorous Killer Koala trilogy.
After leaving school he worked around Australia in a variety of jobs including laboratory technician, journalist and television documentary-maker, and boatshed operator.
Cook was vehemently opposed to the Vietnam War, and stood (unsuccessfully) as an LRG candidate for the seat of Parramatta in the 1966 Australian federal election.
Wake in Fright was filmed in 1971 by Ted Kotcheff, starring Donald Pleasence and Gary Bond (released under the title Outback in Europe and the US).
[10] A 72-minute audio interview with Cook by Hazel de Berg was recorded in 1972, in which he discusses his family, his work for the ABC, the background to Wake in Fright, his ventures into film production and his novels.