Andy Griffiths is Australia's most popular children's writer. He is the author of over 20 books, including nonsense verse, short stories, comic novels and plays. Over the past 15 years Andy's books have been New York Times bestsellers, won over 50 children's choice awards, been adapted as a television cartoon series and sold over five million copies worldwide.

Andy is best known as the author of the much-loved Just! series and The Day My Bum Went Psycho. In 2008 Andy became the first Australian author to win six children's choice awards in one year for Just Shocking!, smashing his previous record of four awards for The Bad Book in 2005.

In 2008 Andy and his wife, Jill, collaborated with The Bell Shakespeare Company on the popular and critically acclaimed theatrical production Just Macbeth! which was nominated for two Helpmann Awards. In July 2010 Just Macbeth! completed a return sold-out season at the Sydney Opera House before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The book of the play was shortlisted in the children's section of the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

Andy has had a long-standing collaboration with the multi-talented illustrator Terry Denton. Together they have produced the Just! series, the wildly popular The Bad Book and The Very Bad Book, two ridiculous illustrated guide What Bumosaur is That? and What Body Part is That?, as well as the Seussian-inspired early readers' The Cat on the Mat is Flat and The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow!. In 2011 Andy and Terry started a new series with The 13-Storey Treehouse, which has already become a firm favourite across Australian bookshelves and won the Book of the Year for Older Children Award at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2012. The Sydney Opera House will be hosting the stage production of The 13-Storey Treehouse in September 2013.

And the treehouse series continues to grow with The 26-Storey Treehouse in September 2012 and The 39-Storey Treehouse in September 2013. Readers who want to sneak behind-the-scenes to see Andy and Terry's creative partnership will be excited by the April 2013 publication of Once Upon A Slime. This activity-based book aims to ignite the writer inside by offering story ideas and zany activities.

Andy is passionate about inspiring a love of books and reading, and this passion drives his work as an ambassador with The Indigenous Literacy Foundation, an initiative of the Australian Publishing Industry, to provide books and literacy resources to remote Indigenous communities around Australia. Andy regularly participates in field trips to remote areas of New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Western Australia to run writing workshops with Indigenous children and to help facilitate the Foundation's work.

Thirteen illustrated stories from these workshops were published in The Naked Boy and The Crocodile in September 2011, with all proceeds going to the ILF. For more details visit www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au.

Andy is also an ambassador for the Pyjama Foundation, which provides literacy-based mentoring programs to children in foster care (www.thepyjamafoundation.com).

You can follow Andy Griffiths on Twitter, like him on Facebook and check out his website www.andygriffiths.com.au for regular updates and tour information.

www.andygriffiths.com.au

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

http://andygbooks.tumblr.com/