Nicholas Jose studied at the Australian National University, Canberra, and Magdalen College, Oxford. He has travelled extensively in Europe and Asia.

From 1986 to 1990 he worked in Shanghai and Beijing where he was Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy from 1987-1990. From 2002 to 2005 he was President of Sydney PEN. He has held the Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide since 2005. He is General Editor of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature.

His most recent book is a novel, Original Face (2005). Black Sheep:  Journey to Borroloola a memoir, appeared in 2002. Other books include the novels The Red Thread (2000), The Custodians (1997), The Rose Crossing (1994), Avenue of Eternal Peace (1989), Paper Nautilus (1987; new edition, 2006) and Rowena’s Field (1984), two collections of short stories, The Possession of Amber (1980) and Feathers or Lead (1986), and Chinese Whispers, Cultural Essays published in 1995.