Alison Wong was born and raised in Hawke's Bay and, apart from several years in China, has spent most of her adult life in the Wellington region. At Victoria University she studied mathematics, and later, creative writing. In 2002 Alison was the Robert Burns Fellow at the University of Otago. Her poetry collection Cup was shortlisted for the Jessie Mackay Best First Book for Poetry at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.