Justine Ettler was born in Sydney. She completed an MA in writing at UTS on a scholarship in 1990, and won an APRA scholarship in 1991 for her PhD in American Literature and Media Studies, which was completed at the University of Sydney in 2013.

Justine's second novel, The River Ophelia, (Picador, 1995) was an instant best-seller in Australia and New Zealand. Her first novel, Marilyn's Almost Terminal New York Adventure, (Picador) was published the following year to critical acclaim. Justine made Australian literary history by being the first female debut writer to sell two books to a mainstream publisher.

Justine has worked as a university lecturer, a freelance journalist, a freelance reader/editor, a business writer and as a bookseller, among other things. Her fictional work has been widely published in anthologies.