Francis Wheen is an English journalist, author and broadcaster, who was named Columnist of the Year at the What the Papers Say awards in 1997 for his "Wheen's World" page in the Guardian (London). His biography of Karl Marx, which won the Isaac Deutscher Memorial Prize, has been translated into more than 20 languages. His other books include Tom Driberg: His Life and Indiscretions (shortlisted for the Whitbread biography prize), Who Was Dr Charlotte Bach? (soon to be a film) and Hoo-Hahs and Passing Frenzies, which won the George Orwell Prize in 2003. His latest books are How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions and Karl Marx's 'Das Kapital': A Biography. He is deputy editor of the British satirical magazine Private Eye and a regular panellist on the BBC radio programme The News Quiz. His TV drama about Harold Wilson's final government, The Lavender List, was broadcast by the BBC in March 2006.

Francis Wheen's visit is supported by the State Library South Australia