Barry Jonsberg was born in Liverpool, England, and now lives in Darwin, Australia with his wife, children and two dogs. Barry has written several novels for young adults including The Whole Business With Kiffo and the Pitbull which was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year (Older Readers) in 2005. His second book It's Not All About YOU, Calma! won the Adelaide Festival Award for Childrens Literature and was shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year (Older Readers) in 2006. Dreamrider was shortlisted for the 2007 NSW Premier's Award (Ethel Turner Award). A young adult novel Ironbark and a novel for younger readers The Dog that Dumped on My Doona were published in 2008. Barry's books have been published in the US, the UK, France, Poland, Germany + China. Barry is a regular speaker at conferences in Australia and has visited many schools to talk about his writing.