Tony Wright grew up in country Victoria on cattle and sheep farms. He attended boarding school at Monivae College, Hamilton, in western Victoria. Wright became a cadet journalist with the Portland Observer in 1970 and went on to work in various roles for a range of publications including national affairs editor with the Bulletin. Wright's journalism has earned him a range of Australian and international awards, among them several United Nations Media Peace Prizes.
Wright is a playwright and a fiction writer. He has also published non-fiction, including Turn Right at Istanbul, a Walk on the Gallipoli Peninsula (2003) and Bad Ground, Inside the Beaconsfield Mines Rescue (2006).