Dianne Bates
Dianne "Di" Bates (born 20 March 1948) is an Australian writer and teacher . Bates was born in Sydney and spent her early years in Appin, New South Wales, attending Campbelltown High School. Later she undertook teaching training in Wollongong where she received a Diploma of Teaching, since gaining a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Wollongong. While teaching, Bates began her writing career with her first book, "Terri", published by Penguin Books in 1980. Since then, she has published over 120 books, mostly for young readers. Some of these books have won state and national awards; others  have been translated into French, Danish and German. Her junior verse novel, "Nobody's Boy" and junior novel, "The Shape", have won CBCA Notable Awards. Bates has received Grants and Fellowships from the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and has toured for the National Book Council. Bates has undertaken commissioned writing for a large number of organisations and has worked on the editorial team of the New South Wales Department of Education School Magazine. She was co-editor of a national children's magazine, Puffinalia (Penguin Books) and editor of another national magazine, Little Ears. Bates  has founded several sub-branches of the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) of NSW. She has presented community radio and television programs about children's literature and reviewed books in numerous magazines. She has also worked as a regional newspaper editor. In 2008, Bates was awarded The Lady Cutler Prize for distinguished services to children's Literature. Bates is married to prize-winning YA author, Bill Condon, whose awards include the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award for Youth Writing and three CBCA Honor Books of the Year. She lives in Wollongong, NSW where she works as a  freelance writer and manuscript assessor and writes a popular blog, Writing for Children.