After completing a Diploma of Teaching (CCES) and a Communications Degree (UTS) Deborah became writer/producer of a kids’ TV show on TV Network Ten, before leaving to write 27 books for children. Her novel, Final Storm, is the final book in the bestselling Grimsdon trilogy, about kids living in a climate-changed world and Teresa: A New Australian, was inspired by her dad who was born in a cave in Malta during WW2. After the war, he and a million other refugees migrated to Australia. The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee and the sequel, The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery were inspired by her year 4 teacher, Miss Gray, and her latest book is Bear in Space, a picture book about being different and finding friends who love you just the way you are. Deb’s been published all over the world and her books have won many awards, including the USBBY Outstanding International Book Award in the USA and the Maurice Saxby Award for services to children's literature. She’s been an ambassador for the National Year of Reading, the Premier’s Reading Challenge, Premier’s Spelling Bee, Room to Read and a role model for Books In Homes. She is also the Assistant Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Australia.