MORRIS GLEITZMAN

AUTHOR

MORRIS Gleitzman is a bestselling Australian children’s author. His books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in humorous and unexpected ways.

He has been appointed our next Children’s Literature Laureate.

The ambassadorial role was created by the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance to promote the importance of reading, creativity and story.

Gleitzman was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969.

His early work included being a paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee.

After he gained a degree in professional writing he began writing for television.

His credits include The Norman Gunston Show.

Gleitzman wrote a number of feature film and telemovie screenplays, including The Other Facts of Life and Second Childhood, both produced by The Australian Children’s Television Foundation.

The Other Facts of Life won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children’s Film Script.

His book titles include Two Weeks With The Queen, Grace, Doubting Thomas, Bumface, Give Peas A Chance, Extra Time, Loyal Creatures, Snot Chocolate and the series Once, Then, Now, After, Soon and his latest Maybe. THE Australian Children’s Literature Alliance (ACLA) is an independent, not-forprofit organisation, founded in 2008 to champion and promote the transformational power of reading in the lives of young Australians. Every

All Gleitzman’s other books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children’s book prizes here and overseas.

The theme for Gleitzman’s twoyear term as Australian Children’s Laureate will be ‘Stories Make Us Stories Create Our Future.’

As Laureate, Gleitzman says: “I’ll champion stories and everything stories can offer.

“I aim to be a kind of ambassador for young readers, and for the community of people who write for them.

“An emissary from the place where young imaginations draw strength from stories and grow and engage and become our best hope for the future.” Learn more: www.morrisgleitzman.com Learn more: www.childrenslaureate.org.au

two years ACLA appoints a Children’s Laureate to promote the importance of reading. Previous Laureates include Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor (2012-13), Jackie French (2014-15) and Leigh Hobbs (2016-17). The 2018-19 Children’s Laureate was...