Debra Oswald facts for kids

Debra Oswald (born 1959) is a well-known Australian writer. She creates stories for many different types of media. This includes books, plays for the stage, and scripts for TV shows and movies. She also writes for radio and has written many books for children.

One of her most famous plays is Stories in the Dark. It won a big award in 2008. Debra also created and wrote the popular TV show Offspring. This show is now on Netflix. For her work on Offspring, she won two more major awards in 2011 and 2014. She has written several novels for adults too, like Useful, The Whole Bright Year, and The Family Doctor. In 2021, Debra performed her own one-woman show called Is There Something Wrong With That Lady. She will have a new novel, One Hundred Years of Betty, coming out in 2025.

Becoming a Writer

Debra Oswald started writing when she was a teenager. Her very first play was worked on when she was just 17 years old. It was later broadcast on ABC Radio. She studied at the Australian National University and the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Since then, she has made a living as a writer. She lives in Sydney with her husband, Richard Glover, who is also a writer. They have two sons.

Plays for the Stage

Debra has written many plays that have been performed around the world. Her play Dags has been very popular. It has been shown in Australia, Britain, and the United States. Other plays she wrote include Going Under and Lumps.

Her play Gary's House was performed in many Australian cities. It was even staged in Japanese in Tokyo. This play was also part of the New South Wales Year 12 drama syllabus, which means high school students studied it. Another play, Sweet Road, was shown in Melbourne and Sydney. Sweet Road, Gary's House, and The Peach Season were all nominated for important literary awards.

Two of her plays, Mr Bailey's Minder and The Peach Season, first opened at the Griffin Theatre Company. Mr Bailey's Minder was performed across Australia and in the United States.

Debra also wrote Stories in the Dark, which won a major award. Judges praised it for showing how imagination and stories can help people survive tough times. In 2021, Debra performed her own show, Is There Something Wrong With That Lady?, on stage for the first time.

Writing for Television

Debra has written for many TV shows. She wrote for the mini-series Palace of Dreams. She also wrote for popular shows like Police Rescue, Bananas in Pyjamas, and The Secret Life of Us. Her scripts for Police Rescue were nominated for awards.

Her most famous TV work is Offspring. She created the show and was the main writer for the first five seasons. Offspring ran for seven seasons until 2017 and was very popular.

Books for Young Readers

Debra has written many novels for children and young adults. Some of her children's novels include Me and Barry Terrific and The Return of the Baked Bean. She also wrote three "Aussie Bites" books: Nathan and the Ice Rockets, Frank and the Emergency Joke, and "Frank and the Secret Club".

For young people, she wrote The Redback Leftovers, Getting Air, and Blue Noise. Blue Noise is a story about teenagers who start a blues band.

Plays for Teenagers

She has also written plays specifically for teenage audiences. These include House on Fire, Skate, and Stories in the Dark. Skate even toured to the Belfast Festival.

Awards

• AACTA Awards, Best TV Screenplay, 2014: winner for Offspring, series 4, episode 13
• New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Script Award, 2011: winner for Offspring
• New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Play Award, 2008: winner for Stories in the Dark
• Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Drama Script (Stage) Award, 2005: shortlisted for Mr Bailey's Minder
• Griffin Award for New Australian Playwriting, 2004: winner for Mr Bailey's Minder
• Seaborn Playwright's Prize for The Peach Season (2005)