Linguist and daughter of Holocaust survivors, Ruth Wajnryb grew up in Campbelltown, New South Wales where she and her brother were the only Jews at school. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree, a Diploma of Education, a Master of Arts (Applied Linguistics) degree and has worked as a teacher and as a trainer of teachers. Her formative experiences as a child of Holocaust survivors and her interest in language from a young age led her into the study of uncomfortable speech events for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Applied Linguistics/Education at Macquarie University. She received the university's award for outstanding research in 1995.
She has held membership of the Australian Society of Authors and has contributed regularly to the Spectrum section of the Sydney Morning Herald. Her work The Silence won the New South Wales Premier's History Award in 2002 and was shortlisted for the Premier's Literary Award of the same year. As an author of eight books, she joined the literary staff of the The Australian Jewish News in early 2003.
