5 minutes with... Morris Gleitzman, beloved children's author

The following interview was featured in the April 2016 edition of Monitor, the University's magazine for alumni, supporters and friends.

World-renowned writer and UC alumnus Morris Gleitzman has recently published his latest novel, Soon, the fifth book in his seven-part Holocaust series. The beloved children's author is known for his comic style of writing and believes it is important to have a healthy sense of humour. Morris uses humour to bring light and shade to his books which is particularly useful skill in dealing with some of the tough and challenging issues in his Holocaust series.

Morris completed a course in professional writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education (now the University of Canberra) in the early 1970s. Since then he has worked as a columnist, scriptwriter and award-winning novelist penning more than 40 titles including children's classics like Two Weeks with the Queen, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Bumface and his Toad series.

Morris shares with Monitor some of his top reads, dishes out advice to aspiring writers and reveals what projects are in the pipeline.

Q. Your latest book Soon is the most recent delivery in your successful series exploring really tough issues such as war, death, loss, the Holocaust. Are you finding it easier or harder to deal with these topics as the books advance, particularly since writing for young readers?

A. It's not really a question of harder or easier. The story is about tough and challenging times seen through the eyes and feelings of the young main character. Because of my close connection to Felix, I never become immune to the terrible things he experiences. In a way, the hardest part for me was researching the Holocaust before writing the first book. Reading the history there was an overwhelming sense of loss, suffering and all the other terrible aspects of it. At that stage I hadn't got inside Felix, where we find the best that humans are capable of, as a partial balance to the worst of human behaviour that surrounds him.

Did this fifth instalment in the series just spring upon you or was it always there waiting its turn while you wrote the series?

I didn't know when I wrote the first novel that there would be more than one. But as I was finishing the first, I found I needed to write a second. And as I finished the second, the same thing happened. It was as I was finishing the third book that I started to realise this trilogy needed more than three books. I've now decided there will be seven books in total, with two more to come.

The next book will follow on from Soon and will explore Felix's life when he comes to Australia as part of the huge post-World War II migration.

In the last book we meet Felix again as an 80-year-old. We shared a part of his 80^th year in the third book, Now. I want to end the series with him late in his life and go back to where we first met him in Poland. It will mean after seven books, the story has come full circle.

Can you share with us what are you reading now and what are the three top books you've read this year?

I've just finished a wonderful book called Shadows in the Vineyard by Maximillian Potter. It's a non-fiction crime/investigative report about someone trying to blackmail one of the great vineyards in the world by threatening to poison their vines. This is a small precious piece of land in France that's been looked after by a family for years and years so it's also about the human connection to the land.

My top three books this year are: The Golden Age by Joan London, St Kilda Blues by Geoffrey McGeachin and I would include Shadows in the Vineyard on that list.

Do you ever suffer of 'writer's block'? And if so, what cures it?

I'm lucky to have never suffered seriously from 'writer's block'. I'm a 'planning' writer so I like to map out each book and that's a big help. Other than disorganisation, writer's block comes from fear.

Even after 37 books and with a degree of success, like all writers I still experience the fears of putting one's work and self out there. My solution is to stop worrying about myself and instead to worry about my main character. Because my job is to help them solve their problems.

Any tips you picked up while studying at the University of Canberra that you would like to share with our current creative writing students?

Kangaroos, I've discovered, are ruthless editors. I started on campus the year it opened and at that time there were more kangaroos than students!

I think the most important thing for me while at UC was having the time and space to find the permission to be a writer. Fighting those thoughts and little voices in your head saying, 'you're kidding yourself! There are so many great writers out there, what makes you think there needs to be another one?'. It helps if you have the space – literally and mentally - to become a writer. Also, in 1972 when I came to Canberra it was the perfect place to develop writer's discipline because there was very little to do.

What's on the horizon for Morris Gleitzman, winner of the University of Canberra's 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award?

One of the great things about being a writer is you go from sitting in a room by yourself for several months to the other part of the job - travel. When I finish the current book early next year, I'll be off to Hong Kong, Mumbai, the UK, Slovenia and a few other places. Then it will be onto writing the next one. A collection of short stories, probably.

Morris Gleitzman Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing, Canberra College of Advanced Education [University of Canberra] (1974) Since writing his first children's novel in 1985, Morris Gleitzman's books have dazzled millions across the world. His ability to deal with serious subjects in humorous and easy-to-read books is what both kids and adults love. Anyone that has been through the Australian education system is surely familiar with Morris' books, as his works have been used and studied extensively.  Morris' books have been published in over 20 languages and adapted for film, television, and even stage. Morris has won hundreds of awards for his work, including dozens of KOALA awards, four Guardian (UK) Awards, and many Dymock's Children's Choice Awards.