Phillip Gwynne (born 1958) is an Australian author. He is best known for his 1998

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

Deadly, Unna? ''Deadly, Unna?'' is a 1998 work of teenage fiction and is Phillip Gwynne's debut novel. Set in a small coastal town in South Australia, it is a rites-of-passage story about the interracial friendship between Australian rules football teammates ...

'', a rites-of-passage story which uses

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

as a backdrop to explore

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

in a small town in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

. The novel won several awards, selling over 200,000 copies, and was adapted into a 2002 film titled ''

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

''. Gwynne has written numerous other books, including children's and young adult books as well as screenplays for television and movies.

Life

Gwynne was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and grew up in rural areas in Victoria and

. He graduated from

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

with a degree in

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifi ...

. He also pursued a career as a

computer programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

. He came to professional writing later in life and wrote his first novel at the age of 35. His award-winning novel ''Deadly Unna'' won Children's Book of the Year in 1998 and was made into a feature film ''Australian Rules'' in 2002. ''Deadly Unna'' also won him the 1999

Children's Peace Literature Award Children's Peace Literature Award is an Australian literary prize awarded every other year by the South Australian Psychologists for Peace, an interest group of the Australian Psychological Society The Australian Psychological Society (APS) i ...

Works

Young adult *''

'' (1998) *''Nukkin Ya'' (2000) *'' Jetty Rats'' (2004) *'' Swerve'' (2009) *'' The Debt book 1: Catch the Zolt'' (2013) *'' The Debt book 2: Turn off the Lights'' (2013) *''The Debt book 3: Bring Back Cerberus'' (2013) *'' The Debt book 4: Fetch the Treasure Hunter'' (2013) *''The Debt book 5: Yamashita's Gold'' (2013) *''The Debt book 6: Take a Life'' (2013) Children's books *''The Worst Team Ever'' (1999) *''Born to Bake'' (2005) *''A Chook Called Harry'' (2009) *''Escape from Kids' Club'' (2010) *''Ruby Learns to Swim'' (2012) *''The Queen with the Wobbly Bottom'' (2012) *''Yobbos Do Yoga'' (2013) *''What's Wrong with the Wobbegong?'' (2014) *''Michael'' (2014) *''Little Owl'' (2014) *''Small Town'' (2020)

References

1958 births 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian children's writers Australian male novelists People from Melbourne James Cook University alumni Living people 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian male writers {{Australia-writer-stub