Australian writer, Paul Jennings was born in England on April 30, 1943. He moved to Australia when he was six years old. He attended Frankston Teachers College and became a teacher. He then attended Lincoln Institute and became a speech pathologist. In 1989, he decided to become a full-time writer. His first title Unreal!, winner of a Young Australians' Best Book Award (YABBA), was published in 1985. His other works include the Singenpoo series, the Wicked! series, the Deadly! series, and The Nest. He has won numerous awards including the Kids Reading Oz Choice Award, the Books I Like Best Yearly Award, the Angus and Robertson Bookworld Award and a COOL Award for his title The Paw Thing. He also received the Golden Puffin Award in 1992 for selling 1 million books in Australia. In addition to writing, he visits school and lectures at conferences and seminars on encouraging children to read.
