In a career spanning three decades Michael Gawenda has won numerous journalism awards, including three Walkley Awards.

He is the author of American Notebook: A Personal and Political Journey (2007) and Rocky and Gawenda: The Story of a Man and His Mutt (2009), both published by MUP.

He was the inaugural director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne, where he is now a senior research fellow.