John Curtain grew up in Ballarat and attended St Patrick's College. After completing a teaching studentship he started teaching in 1962 and taught for four years before joining Cheshire Publishing. From 1971 to 1973 Curtain, with his wife and family, lived and worked in the UK. After returning to Australia he worked for Senator John Button before managing Lansdowne Press and, later, establishing Richmond Hill Press. After Richmond Hill Press stopped publishing he freelanced before joining Penguin Books in 1984. In 1990 Curtain was asked to head the Graduate Diploma in Publishing and Editing course at RMIT. He was appointed Associate Professor.
