Morris Gleitzman is a highly successful author, renowned for his comic writing style that appeals to both children and adults. Born in England in 1953, Gleitzman moved to Australia in 1969, seeking to escape school and pursue his dream of becoming a famous writer. Before achieving his dream, he had a variety of jobs, including working as a paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant, and sugar-mill employee. Gleitzman gained a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education and became the sole writer for three award-winning seasons of the TV comedy series The Norman Gunston Show.
Gleitzman's writing career began as a screenwriter, and he wrote his first children's novel in 1985. He has since become one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and domestically. His books have been published in several countries, including the UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, China, and Indonesia. One of his most successful books for young people is "Two Weeks with the Queen," which was an international bestseller and adapted into a play. Gleitzman's other books have been shortlisted for or won numerous children's book prizes, including "The Other Facts of Life," "Second Childhood," "Misery Guts," "Worry Warts," "Puppy Fat," "Blabber Mouth," "Sticky Beak," "Belly Flop," "Water Wings," "Bumface," "Gift Of The Gab," "Toad Rage," "Wicked!" and "Deadly!" He has also written two six-part novels in collaboration with Paul Jennings.