Kenneth Cook achieved recognition as a fiction writer with the publication of his first novel Wake in Fright in 1961. Wake in Fright was followed by over 20 fiction and non-fiction books, including Eliza Frazer, Bloodhouse, Tuna and Pig . His antiwar beliefs were reflected in his powerful novel, The Wine of God's Anger and in the play Stockade. Kenneth Cook died of a heart attack in 1987.