# Ursula Dubosarsky

Ursula Dubosarsky (born Ursula Coleman; 1961 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and comic voice of both clarity and ambiguity.
She is the third child of Peter Coleman and Verna Susannah Coleman. She was named after the character of Ursula Brangwen in the 1915 novel The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence. She attended Lindfield, Hunter's Hill and Chatswood Primary Schools, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, then studied at Sydney University and later Macquarie University. She is an Honorary Associate in the Department of English at Macquarie University and has taught courses in children's literature at Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney. From 2016-2024 she was a member of the Library Council of New South Wales.

## Writing career

Ursula is the author of over 60 illustrated books and novels, which have been translated into 14 languages.
She has also written three non-fiction "Word Spy" books for children, illustrated by Tohby Riddle, about language, grammar and etymology. These books have won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award and the Junior Judges' Award. In the United States and Canada The Word Spy is published under the title The Word Snoop.
Her novel The Red Shoe is included in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and is one of 200 significant works of Australian literature in the Copyright Agency's Reading Australia program.
In 2014, the annual Christmas Windows of the department store David Jones were based on her story Reindeer's Christmas Surprise, illustrated by Sue deGennaro and her book Too Many Elephants In this House, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, was chosen for the National Simultaneous Storytime. In 2018 the National Library of Australia published Midnight at the Library, illustrated by Ron Brooks, to celebrate the Library's 50-year anniversary. In 2019 a study room at Marrickville Library was named in honour of her novel The Blue Cat.
Three of her books have been adapted for theatre: The Red Shoe, The Terrible Plop and Too Many Elephants in This House. A theatrical work, "The Giant's Garden" based on a story by Ursula (in turn inspired by Oscar Wilde) is part of the 2025 Adelaide Festival.

## Awards and honors

She has won nine national literary prizes, including five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, more than any other writer in the Awards' 30-year history. She was appointed the Australian Children's Laureate for 2020–2021.

### International

* Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominee 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 2023, 2024,2025.
* Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominee
* Luchs (Lynx ) Award for Children's Literature for The Golden Day (in German Nicht Jetz, niemals)
* International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Book List for The Golden Day
* YALSA (Division of the American Library Association) Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults Nominee for Word Snoop
* International Youth Library White Ravens for The First Book of Samuel; The Red Shoe; and Midnight at the Library.

### Australian

* 2020–2021 – Australian Children's Laureate
* 2013 – Inducted into Speech Pathology Australia's Hall of Fame for her contribution to children's literature
* 2011 – Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books for The Return of the Word Spy with illustrator Tohby Riddle
* 2009 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Patricia Wrightson Prize for Young People's Literature for The Word Spy with illustrator Tohby Riddle
* 2009 – Junior Judges Project, Children's Book Council of Australia, Winner for The Word Spy with illustrator Tohby Riddle
* 2009 – Kids Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA), Picture Book Winner for Rex with illustrator David Mackintosh
* 2007 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature for The Red Shoe
* 2006 – Queensland Premier's Literary Award, Young Adult Book Award for The Red Shoe
* 2006 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature for Theodora's Gift
* 2006 – Victorian Premier's Literary Award, Prize for Young Adult Literature for Theodora's Gift
* 2001 – Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, Award for Children's Literature for Abyssinia
* 1995 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Ethnic Affairs Commission Award for The First Book of Samuel
* 1994 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Ethel Turner Prize for Children's literature for The White Guinea Pig
* 1994 – Victorian Premier's Literary Award, Alan Garner Prize for Children's Literature for The White Guinea Pig

## Theatrical productions

* Too Many Elephants in This House at NIDA, the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
* The Red Shoe at the Jigsaw Theatre.
* Plop!, a musical version of The Terrible Plop at the Windmill Theatre in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra, Sydney, regional Victoria, Queensland and Darwin and the New Victory Theater in New York.