Biographical Sketch

Ursula Dubosarsky was born in Sydney in 1961. She graduated from Sydney University in 1982, then lived in Canberra for two years, where she had her first job. She began writing at night, working on the book that was to become Zizzy Zing. While spending a year on a Kibbutz, she met her Argentinian-born husband, Avi (not to be confused with the American author of the same name). Returning to Sydney in 1986 Ursula took up a post as a researcher for Reader's Digest Magazine. Her first book, Maisie and the Pinny Gig (a picture book) was published by Penguin Australia in 1989. She was discovered from the slush pile by Jane Godwin, who has been Ursula Dubosarsky's editor ever since.

In 1991 the Dubosarsky family (the first of their children had been born in 1987) spent another year on a Kibbutz. On their return to Australia in 1992 Ursula wrote The White Guinea Pig. This was closely followed by The First Book of Samuel and Bruno and the Crumhorn. Each of these books has been extremely well-received in Australia, where Dubosarsky's Awards include the 1994 Victorian Premier's Award for Children's Literature.