Australia Reads > Author and Illustrator Directory > Deborah Abela

Deborah Abela

Author of Children’s Fiction

based in NSW

Biography

Deborah Abela Dip Teach, BA (Comm)

Children’s Author

Deborah Abela is a trained teacher and was the producer and writer of a national kids’ TV show before leaving to become an award-winning, internationally published author of 30 children’s books. They include her best-selling climate change trilogy, Grimsdon, New City and Final Storm. The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee and The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery were inspired by Deb’s stupendous grade 4 teacher and have recently been optioned to be made into a film. Her latest books are the CBCA Notable, Bear in Space and The Book of Wondrous Possibilities, a love letter to booksellers, books, libraries and librarians and how they can save us when we feel lost. Her verse novel, The Kindness Project, is about four kids who try to change the world with a school project and was recently shortlisted for the 2025 Children’s Peace Literature Award.

Deb’s presentations are informative, interactive and fun. She loves getting kids excited about books, reading and writing their own stories. Deborah has visited tens of thousands of children, their teachers and librarians over the past 20 years, encouraging children to love books and reading. www.deborahabela.com

Todd Decker

"Every child has the right to be able to read. Reading offers kids a gentle way to make sense of life’s big issues and big feelings. They help us feel connected to the world and each other. They foster empathy by allowing readers to see the world from other points of view. Books are our passports to being human. They are resilience builders and imagination expanders. They’re also fun! We want our future leaders to be creative and smart, intellectually and emotionally, and if we hand them a book when they’re young, we’ll have done just that."