Nick Earls has written numerous critically and commercially successful adult novels, including Zigzag Street, Bachelor Kisses, Perfect Skin and World of Chickens, as well as bestselling young adult novels, most recently Monica Bloom.  Zigzag Street won a Betty Trask Award in the UK and 48 Shades of Brown won the 2000 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award for Older Readers.  The film adaptation of the book was released in 2006.  A number of Nick’s other novels are being adapted for film or television and three have been adapted for theatre.  He has contributed to the Girls Night In series of anthologies, which have raised $2 million for the War Child Charity, and is Chair of War Child in Australia.  Nick’s latest adult novel The Thompson Gunner was published by Penguin in 2004.  His latest YA offering, Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight, which he co-wrote with Rebecca Sparrow was published by Penguin. His much anticipated new adult novel The True Story of Butterfish was published by Random House Australia in July 2009. A play of the book, which Nick also wrote, premiered at the Brisbane Powerhouse in October.