Thomas Keneally 1995, he was a visiting professor in the writing program at UCI. In 2006, Peter Pierce, Professor of Australian Literature, James Cook University, wrote: The Tom Keneally Centre opened in August 2011 at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, housing Keneally's books and memorabilia. The site is used for book launches, readings and writing classes. Keneally married Judy Martin, then a nurse, in 1965, and they had two daughters, Margaret and Janet. Keneally was the founding chairman (1991–93) of the Australian Republic Movement and published a book on the subject "Our Republic" in 1993. Several of his Republican essays appear
Thomas Keneally novel in 1982, inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor. In 1980, Keneally met Pfefferberg in the latter's shop, and learning that he was a novelist, Pfefferburg showed him his extensive files on Oskar Schindler, including the original list itself. Keneally was interested, and Pfefferberg became an advisor for the book, accompanying Keneally to Poland where they visited Kraków and the sites associated with the Schindler story. Keneally dedicated "Schindler's Ark" to Pfefferberg: "who by zeal and persistence caused this book to be written." He said in an interview in 2007 that what attracted him to Oskar