Merlinda Bobis is a Filipino-Australian writer and performer. She has received various awards for her prose fiction, poetry, and plays, among them the Prix Italia, the Australian Writers' Guild Award, and the Philippine National Book Award. Her books include The Solemn Lantern Maker, Summer Was a Fast Train Without Terminals, and White Turtle. She is also a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Wollongong in Australia.