Paul Jennings AM (born 30 April 1943), is an English-born Australian writer for children, young adults and adults. He is best known for his short stories that lead the reader through an unusual series of events and end with a twist. Many of his stories were adapted for the cult classic children's television series Round the Twist. Jennings collaborated with Morris Gleitzman on the book series Wicked!, which was adapted into an animated TV series in 2000, and Deadly!.

Early life and education

Paul Jennings was born on 30 April 1943 in Heston, Middlesex (now part of Hounslow in London). In 1949 his family emigrated to Australia. He first attended Bentleigh West Primary School in Bentleigh, a suburb of Melbourne, and then Caulfield Grammar School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Education Studies from 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 of Health Sciences (now part of Monash).

Career

After graduating, he worked as a speech pathologist then lecturer in special education at the Burwood State College and later, in 1979, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (both now part of Deakin University). In 1985, Jennings's first book of short stories, Unreal!, was published, during which he worked as a teacher, lecturer and speech therapist. He began writing for children when his son, aged 11, was having trouble reading. Jennings's 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. In 2020 Jennings's memoir, Untwisted: The Story of My Life, was published by Allen & Unwin. Jennings started writing it ten years earlier, and it is his longest piece of writing. In it, he examines many aspects of his life, including harbouring feelings of guilt about disliking his cold and emotionally abusive father, and having thoughts of attacking him.

Personal life

Jennings first married aged 22. He has six children, and is a great-grandfather. His third wife is comedian Mary-Anne Fahey. He has two step-children and two adopted children, who have helped to inform some of his stories about children looking for their biological parents.

Awards and honours

Awards for titles

Young Australians' Best Book Award (YABBA): Canberra's Own Outstanding List (COOL Award): West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA): Kids Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA): Kids Reading Oz Choice Award (KROC): Books I Love Best Yearly (BILBY Award): Australian Writers' Guild: ABPA Joyce Nicholson Award: Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature: Prix Jeunesse Award: Australian Publishers Association – Book Industry Awards: Christian Schools' Book Award: Dymocks Children's Choice Awards: Queensland Premiers Literary Award:

Short story collections

Picture books

Rascal series

Miscellaneous

Chapter books

Cabbage Patch series

Gizmo series

Singenpoo series

Miscellaneous

Novels

Deadly series (co-written with Morris Gleitzman) Wicked series (co-written with Morris Gleitzman)

YA novels

Puzzle and joke books

Compilations and bind-ups

Miscellaneous

Adult non-fiction

The Reading Bug...and how you can help your child to catch it (2008)

Memoir

Critical studies and reviews of Jennings's work

Television