Pamela McManus was born in Tasmania and educated at Fahan School. During World War Two, when she was six years old, she wrote, produced and starred in full-length ballets, the proceeds from which she contributed to the Red Cross War Effort. In her late teenage years she joined the Hobart Repertory Company, in on-stage and off-stage roles. She later spent four years in London and Edinburgh, returning to Brisbane from Singapore in 1977. Her first play 'Party Night' won third prize at the 1982 Ipswich Drama Festival, and in 1983 she won the Noosa Arts Theatre National One-Act Playwriting Competition, for 'A Day in the Life of Norman'. Copies of these works have not been traced. From 1982 she taught writing for Adult Enrichment courses in Brisbane. She became a member of the Executive Committee of Canberra theatre company Phoenix Players in 1991, as well as being involved in various live production roles for that company.
