Paul Jennings

Paul Jennings’s literary career can be traced back to three whispered words from the author Carmel Bird, who taught him writing at an evening class in Melbourne in 1983. ‘You are good,’ she told him. Jennings was an unpublished forty-year-old at the time, yet within two years Penguin had launched his first short story collection, Unreal!

Early winter: Robin is living with his father in the mountains. Where is his mother and why did she leave? This mystery drives the conflict between Robin and his father, who won’t tell Robin what he knows. The Nest is a family drama with a Gothic mystery at its heart. The tension between these elements – the unusual structure that Jennings has created to hold them together – gives the novel an odd power and surprising range. But The Nest derives much of its appeal from its account of daily life in the Australian snowfields, a setting with its own practical magic. The characters move from cosy rooms into wild and dangerous country. This contrast suggests the literary styles that Jennings brings together here: The Nest is a realist novel with Romantic images and themes.

Ursula Dubosarsky is an original and sensitive author of books for children and young adults, while the inimitable Paul Jennings is the author of many books for younger readers. His books engage readers through their hilarious plots and the insight he brings to the reading experience. Dubosarsky has won many literary awards for books such as the haunting The Red Shoe (2006), while Jennings, whose books have hooked many a reluctant reader, has won numerous children’s choice and other awards for books, including Unreal! (1985). They also have in common a driving passion for words, language, literature, reading and children. Both authors have poured this passion into these non-fiction releases, The Word Spy and The Reading Bug and How to Help Your Child Catch It.