|
Many
people ask about me and my family. I was born in Middlesex,
England in 1943 and came out to Australia when I was six
years old. I have a younger sister called Ruth. I went to
Bentleigh West Primary School, where English and Library
were my favourite subjects. When I was very small I loved
Rupert The Bear books. Later on I enjoyed William
books by Richmal
Crompton.
I had
many different careers before I became a writer; including
teaching, speech therapy and lecturing. After a few years
lecturing and writing part time, I became a full-time writer
in 1989. I started writing in Warrnambool but moved to Belgrave
in the Dandenong Ranges in 1989. I lived there with my family
for ten years, but we have recently returned to Warmambool,
our home by the sea, and have bought a block of land overlooking
the ocean. We hope to build a new house there. I am very
excited by this move because I will able to sit in my new
study watching the ocean as it foams and crashes about me.
In winter I will be able to watch the whales.
My wife, Claire, and I also have a flat in Melbourne which
we use when we have to work in the city.
Claire
has been a primary school teacher, a librarian, a lecturer
in Children's Literature and an educational consultant.
She gives talks to teachers and knows a lot about kids books.
She reads my stories and tells me if they are any good.
All
our children are grown up now. My daughter Tracy is 33.
She is a youth worker and like Linda, 31 lives in Warrnambool.
Linda has three children, Anthony, Sarah and Jamie. Linda
in 'Round The Twist' is named after her. Andrew is
28 and has a son also called Andrew, another son called
Jermaine and a daughter called Kaylie. My daughter Sally
has two boys called Kyle and Sage. Then there is Bronson
- I named Bronson in 'Round The Twist' after him
and got the idea for Smelly Feat from his feet after tennis.
He is 22. The youngest member of our family is Gemma who
is 21 and works as a beauty therapist.
I always
knew deep down that what I really wanted was to be a writer
- right from when I was young. When I was 16 I wrote a story
and sent it to a magazine. When they rejected my story I
was so upset that I didn't write again for years. I always
tell people now never be hurt by being rejected. Just keep
on trying and most of all don't give up. Many years later
I decided to write again - the sort of stories which I thought
would make reading fun for children. This time I decided
not to give up and Penguin Books liked my stories and published
Unreal! in 1985.
Paul
Jennings latest book is Tongue-tied!
published by Puffin.
Information
supplied by Paul Jennings
Thanks to Lyndu
Last updated July 2002
|
