Rebekah Clarkson has a Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Studies and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide, where she also completed a PhD on the process of creating a collection of interconnected short literary fiction pieces: her first novel, Barking Dogs, is one she calls a 'novel in stories'.
She has worked in Indigenous affairs and dance education and has taught creative writing at the University of Adelaide and the University of Texas, Austin. Her work has been shortlisted for such prestigious awards as the Alan Marshall Short Story Award, the Carmel Bird Award, and the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize.