AustLit

David Kausman, who writes as Odo Hirsch, grew up in Melbourne, studied medicine in Australia and worked as a doctor in Melbourne and London. In London he has also worked with Amnesty International, reporting on torture victims and examining hospital conditions in Eastern Europe.

Kausman completed a masters degree at Cambridge University and in 1997 began work as a management consultant for McKinsey Consulting in England. It was during this time that he first began writing books for children, a genre which he had not at that time read since he was a primary school student at Bialik College, Melbourne. He says of his writing, 'The books are about exploring the conventions put around us and how one establishes individuality. And that's what kids do...The thing that excites and motivates me is curiosity' (Michelle Griffin, The Age 2 Oct. 2004).

Kausman has lived in London since 1989. His books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Italy.