Vivienne Cleven (born 1968) is an Indigenous Australian fiction author and writer of the Kamilaroi people.
Born in 1968 in Surat, Queensland, Cleven grew up in the homeland of her Aboriginal heritage (Kamilaroi Nation[3][2]).
[3] Cleven adapted Bitin’ Back into a play-script in 2005 which was staged by Brisbane’s Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Theatre Company.
[1] In 2017, Cleven penned a column for the journal Lesbians on the Loose, entitled, “Dyketopia: The Internet's most popular cyberspace precinct has plenty going on for lesbians.” Cleven’s works delve into themes of gender identity, queer expression, mental health, domestic and sexual abuse, connection to land, and racial prejudice in a postcolonial Australian context.
[6][7] Both Bitin' Back and Her Sister's Eye critically forefront the Indigenous woman's experience in situations where their race and gender are seminal to their stories.