Denise Doraisamy

Biography

About Denise

Denise Doraisamy is an Australian author, artist and former primary school teacher whose stories have grown from a rich life of travel, teaching, farming and adventure.

Raised on a dairy farm in the Hawkesbury region in rural Australia, Denise developed an early affinity with animals and the natural world. She later became a primary school teacher, where she discovered a talent for storytelling—often inventing stories on the spot to capture the attention of a restless classroom.

In her twenties, Denise began travelling widely, living and working in Africa and London before eventually making her home in India for many years. There she studied traditional Tanjore painting and yoga, while the people, landscapes and experiences around her provided a rich source of material for her writing. She returned to Australia in 2002 and began writing seriously, drawing increasingly on the remarkable collection of experiences accumulated throughout her life.

Denise holds a Master’s degree in Special Education and a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. Her background in teaching and special education has strongly influenced her approach to writing for children, particularly her interest in creating engaging, accessible stories for reluctant and struggling readers.

Her children’s fiction is grounded in the real world. Animals, places, adventures and encounters she has known first-hand become the starting points for stories in which courage, humour, curiosity and the power of imagination take over. As Denise puts it, the kernel of her stories comes from real life—before the magic “moon dust” is sprinkled on.

Denise’s catalogue ranges from picture books for young children—including Harley the Boom Boom Lamb and the Molly Melon series—to the five-book Action adventure series for emerging independent readers.

At the heart of her writing is a belief that children should be encouraged to engage confidently with the real world: to encounter unfamiliar situations, make decisions, recognise their own strengths and discover that life itself can be every bit as extraordinary as fiction.

Upcoming titles include Harley’s adventures, Harley the Boom Boom Lamb, Harley Goes to the Party, Molly Melon Meets Moo, and the Action series for young adults: Action Africa, Action India, Action Australia, Action Down Under, and Action in the Land of the Long White Cloud.