Doug MacLeod

Doug MacLeod is a Melbourne writer who divides his time between working in TV and making books. He has worked with some of Australia's best comedians, and in 2008 the Australian Writers Guild awarded him the prestigious Fred Parsons prize for Outstanding Contribution to TV Comedy writing. He is happiest when he is writing books, but also has a lot of fun working as the script editor on the TV phenomenon Kath and Kim. He also wrote scripts for SeaChange, Dogstar (which he co-devised) and just about every TV sketch comedy show to come out in the late eighties and nineties. According to the biographical notes on his parody book Kevin the Troll, Doug’s hobbies are riding his bike, taking long walks and listening to music. He is of Norse descent and he has average looks. This means he is a biking, hiking, music-liking, not-so-striking former-Viking.

Doug's first book was published when he was sixteen. It was a collection of verse and illustrations, which - amazingly - earned him a fan letter from the comedian John Cleese. His verse book, Sister Madge's Book of Nuns, is probably his best known title, though he has lately turned to writing novels for children and young adults. For primary age kids he wrote Leon Stumble's Book of Stupid Fairytales and Spiky, Spunky, My Pet Monkey. For slightly older readers he wrote Tumble Turn, The Clockwork Forest, and I'm Being Stalked by a Moonshadow, which was shortlisted for the 2007 NSW Premier's Awards. The book was recently published in America where Kirkus magazine named it as one of their favourites for the year. A play of The Clockwork Forest was staged by the Sydney Theatre Company in 2008. With satirist John Clarke, Doug wrote a musical based on the works of May Gibbs, which premiered at the 2007 Sydney Festival under the direction of Neil Armfield.

By writing TV as well as books (and a little for the stage), Doug has been able to make a living from a skill that is often undervalued. While modern technology is seeing many professions fall by the wayside, there will always be a need for people who can write stories, because computers really can't do that. Doug's aim in school visits is to inspire kids and young adults to improve their own stories by offering some trouble-shooting tips which he learned in his role as a script editor. (He has a Diploma of Arts in writing from The Victorian College of Arts, which led to his getting his first break in ABC radio.) He still writes and recites comic verse and is a keen storyteller, but don't let him sing. Doug is also happy to talk to adult groups about some of his experiences while working on ground-breaking TV sketch shows such as The Comedy Comedy and Fast Forward. The most money he ever received for writing was when he came up with the Jetstar jingle.