Phillip Gwynne


Phillip Gwynne is an Australian author. He is best known for his 1998 debut novel, Deadly, Unna?, a rites-of-passage story which uses Australian rules football as a backdrop to explore race relations in a small town in South Australia. The novel won several awards, selling over 200,000 copies, and was adapted into a 2002 film titled Australian Rules. 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, Victoria, and grew up in rural areas in Victoria and South Australia. He graduated from James Cook University with a degree in marine biology. He also pursued a career as a computer programmer. 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.

Works

Young adult
Children's books