Paul Jennings (Australian Author)

Paul Jennings (Australian Author)

Paul Jennings AM is an English-born Australian children's book writer. His books mainly feature short stories that lead the reader through an unusual series of events that end with a twist.

Paul Jennings was born on 30 April 1943 in Heston in Borough of Hounslow, London. In 1949 his family emigrated to Australia, where he attended school at Bentleigh West Primary School.

He trained to be a teacher at Frankston Teachers College and taught at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He then went to the Lincoln Institute and became a speech pathologist. After that he became a lecturer at the Burwood State College and the Warrnambool Institute of Adult Education.

In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal!, was published, during which he worked as a teacher, lecturer and speech therapist. In 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing.

Jennings' short stories were adapted for the first two seasons of children's television series Round The Twist in 1989 and 1992, and then later in 1998 for the only season of series Driven Crazy.