Gleitzman, Morris (1953-…), is a popular English-born Australian author of books for children and young adults. Gleitzman has won praise for his skillful use of humor in dealing with serious subjects, such as divorce and the intolerance refugees face trying to settle in a new country. In 2018, the Australian Children’s Literature Alliance named Gleitzman the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2018 and 2019. A laureate is a person who is honored for outstanding achievement in a particular field. The Alliance is a private organization that promotes the importance of reading, creativity, and stories in the lives of young Australians.
One of Gleitzman’s best-known books is the novel Two Weeks with the Queen (1991). It is about a boy who tries to get the Queen of the United Kingdom to help obtain proper medical treatment for his brother, ill with a rare form of cancer. One of Gleitzman’s most popular characters is teenager Keith Shipley. The boy faces difficult problems in his home life in Misery Guts (1991) and several sequels. Toad Rage (1999) is the first in a series about Limpy, an Australian cane toad. Once (2005) is the first novel in the “Felix” series, about a Jewish boy trying to survive in Poland during World War II (1939-1945), and his life after the war. Soon (2015), the fifth book in the series, was named the 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers. In Maybe (2017), Felix, now 14 years old, is offered the chance for a new life in Australia.
Gleitzman and British-born Australian writer Paul Jennings co-wrote two suspense series for young readers. The series “Wicked!” begins with The Slobberers (1997), and “Deadly!” begins with Nude (2000). Gleitzman’s many short stories have been collected in Give Peas a Chance (2007), Tickled Onions (2010), Pizza Cake (2011), and Snot Chocolate (2016).
Gleitzman was born on Jan. 9, 1953, in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. In 1969, he moved with his parents to Australia. Gleitzman received a B.A. degree from the Canberra College of Advanced Education (now the University of Canberra) in 1974. He worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1973 to 1981, eventually becoming a script editor, producer, and scriptwriter. Gleitzman’s first two children’s books, The Other Facts of Life (1985) and Second Childhood (1990), were adaptations of his TV screenplays. He wrote newspaper columns for The Age in Melbourne and The Sydney Morning Herald that were later collected in Just Looking: Gleitzman on Television (1992) and Gleitzman on Saturday (1994). He became a freelance writer in 1981.
