TV Article 'The Thorn Birds' author Colleen McCullough dies at 77 By Samantha Highfill Samantha Highfill Samantha is a writer based in Los Angeles. Television is her one true love, and she tweets about it. A lot. EW's editorial guidelines Published on January 29, 2015 03:56PM EST Photo: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images Colleen McCullough, author of 1977’s best-selling novel The Thornbirds, has died. She was 77. According to the Associated Press, McCullough died on Thursday in a hospital on Norfolk Island after battling a long illness. McCullough wrote 25 novels, her first being 1974’s Tim and her latest being 2013’s Bittersweet. However, McCullough was best known for The Thorn Birds, which became a U.S. television miniseries in 1983. She was also the author behind the seven-novel series Masters of Rome. She is survived by her husband, Ric Robinson.