Last night at a Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) conference, seminal author Paul Jennings was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award, recognising his outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature.

Paul Jennings has authored over 100 books, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide. Beginning with Unreal! in 1985, Jennings has published countless short story collections, the chapter book series Deadly and Wicked co-written with Morris Gleitzman, and a number of picture books and smaller series.

Known for their twist endings, many of Jennings’ short stories were adapted into the fittingly named Round the Twist during its first two seasons.

The CBCA Lifetime Achievement award aims to recognise “A long-standing contribution by an Australian citizen to Australian children’s books, and a lifetime commitment to Australian readers.” It’s safe to say Paul Jennings has done that and more so – we reckon it’s a well deserved award!