Trudi Canavan was born in Kew, Melbourne, on the 23 October 1969, and grew up in Ferntree Gully, a suburb at the foothills of the Dandenongs. Her early interests were creative: primarily art, writing and music. Choosing art as the interest most likely to generate an income, she completed an Advanced Certificate in Promotional Display at the Melbourne College of Decoration, receiving an additional award for Highest Aggregate Mark in Art Subjects for 1988.

Her first employer was Lonely Planet Publications, where she worked as a designer, illustrator and cartographer. In 1993 she accepted a temporary position at Oxford University Press Australia as a promotional designer and was retained as permanent staff.

In 1995 she started The Telltale Art, a freelance business offering illustration, cartography and graphic design services. Her clients have included numerous Australian publishing companies, including Lonely Planet Publications, Pan MacMillan, Reed Education and HarperCollins.

Also in 1995, she began working for Aurealis, a magazine of Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction. In addition to her main role as art editor, involving the design of the magazine and exhibition displays and the commissioning of art, she has read manuscripts, created web pages and stuffed envelopes. In 2004, ...