Writer, author, screenwriter, director, producer, radio announcer, actor.
The author of more than 100 plays, musicals, fiction and non-fiction books, and travel articles, Ian Austin has been working as a writer and creative since the 1960s. His plays, staged commercially in Australia, New York and New Zealand, have been published by Playlab Press, Maverick Press, Shakespeare Head Press, Thomas Nelson Australia, and the Mewar History Plays for schools (Udaipur, India). Three volumes of Austin's children’s plays have been studied in an English-speaking drama school in Zimbabwe, while more stories have been written for radio in Australia. His writing career has also encompassed travel writing, and in this respect he has contributed articles to national and international periodicals such as Oberoi Hotels, Pan-Arab Press, Royal Brunei Airlines, ITA Magazine, Canberra Chronicle, and Brisbane's Sunday Mail.
In his early career Austin wrote a series of plays for fourth-grade students, contributed material to the television comedy sketch series The Mavis Bramston Show, and in the early 1970s collaborated on several Brisbane revues - notably with Peter Pinne, Don Battye and Jay McKee. He later spent five years with Reg Grundy Productions (Brisbane and Perth), working as a scriptwriter, story-line producer and manager. Among the shows he was associated with were Class of 74, Class of 75 and Until Tomorrow). His television credits also include writing and directing Hidden India, (1980-1982). A six-hour documentary series, researched and filmed on location, it was later sold to Australian and international television. He spent
In addition to television Austin spent more than a dozen years working in radio, as a commercial and documentary scriptwriter (including George Patterson Advertising), and has secured similar opportunities with corporate advertising - notably with the Queensland Travel and Tourism Corporation, Queensland Education Department, Jupiter’s Casino and the Big Pineapple.
As an actor, Austin studied with Hayes Gordon at the Ensemble, Sydney. He has appeared in many Brisbane and regional Queensland theatre productions, notably with Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane Arts Theatre (which premiered many of his early plays), Brisbane Repertory Theatre, BATS (Buderim), Noosa Arts, and the Independent at Eumundi (which has premiered a number of his later plays). Austin's involvement in theatre has also included directing (he was A Guest Director at The University of Queensland), contributing reviews to the Sunshine Coast Daily (15 years), and the producing You Write It, a CD-ROM containing three writing courses (Playwriting, Short Stories, and Creative Playwriting for Youngsters). It also includes a selection of his unpublished plays.
Austin's other career achievements include working for two decades as a radio announcer. He later worked for TCN 9 Television (Sydney) and secured occasional work providing voice-overs. He has lectured at TAFE in Creative Writing, Playwriting and Scriptwriting, presented numerous seminars to business organisations and schools, and served as an adjudicator for a number of drama festivals.