Justin's first publication was a monthly cartoon strip in a magazine, which he used to draw in his tent while he travelled around Australia on a motorbike. His first book, a novel for adults called The Initiate, was published in 1989 and won three awards. His adult short stories have been published in 18 countries and have won 54 literary prizes.
For twenty years Justin wrote only for adults - in addition to his other jobs: driving forklifts, building cars, picking fruit, mustering cattle, mining for iron, working in a laboratory, being a club manager in an Aborigine settlement, working in a sugar mill and teaching Professional Writing at TAFE.