Matthews is a convicted bank robber and prison escapee who served time in New South Wales (1969-1980) and Queensland (1996-2000). In 1993 Matthews became the first Australian ex-prisoner to be admitted into the Australian Journalist Association. In 2004 he was short-listed for three Queensland Media Awards, of which he won two. In 2006 Matthews graduated from the University of Southern Queensland as a Bachelor of Mass Communication. He has written regularly for print and online media. (Frontmatter, Intractable (2006)).
