Jackie French is a writer and wombat negotiator from the Araluen Valley. Her  writing career spans 20 years, 148 wombats, 135 books in 24 languages, 3,721 bush rats, and over 60 awards in Australia and overseas.

Jackie is one of the few writers to win both literary and children's choice awards. Hitler's Daughter won the 2000 CBCA Book of the Year for Younger Readers, the UK Wow! Award and has been listed as a "blue ribbon' book in the USA. Diary of a Wombat has won most of the Australian kid's choice awards, several USA awards including two 'Cuffies' for Best Picture Book and Funniest Book, the 2003 ABA / Neilson Data Book of the Year and was 2003 CBCA Honour Book.  Other awards include an Aurealis (sci fi) Award for Cafe on Callisto,  ACT Book of the Year for In the Blood, a Helpman Award 2007 for Hitler's Daughter, the play;  2005 WAYBRA Award for Younger Readers for They Came on Viking Ships;  and the ABIA (Australian Book Industry Award) 2007 for Josephine Wants to Dance, as well as recent CBCA shortlists for The Shaggy Gully Times, and Pharaoh.

Jackie is also a passionate advocate for a  new look at  children's literacy; a committed historian, ecologist, and ACT Children's Amabassador.  Her most recent books are The Tomorrow Book, illustrated by Sue DeGennaro, which shows children and adults that tomorrow can be wonderful, not depressing, as well as The Donkey Who Carried the Wounded,  They Night They Stormed Eureka, and Baby Wombat's Week, the long awaited sequel to Diary of a Wombat.