Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982, which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor. The book would later be adapted to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.Often published under the name Tom Keneally in Australia.Life and Career:Born in Sydney, Keneally was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where a writing prize was named after him.