Profile: The 'Asian Paul Jennings'

Emerging author Oliver Phommavanh has been referred to as the 'Asian Paul Jennings', and it's a title he's delighted to hold.

Emerging author Oliver Phommavanh has been referred to as the 'Asian Paul Jennings', and he says it's a title he's delighted to hold.

The 29 year old has published three young adult books loosely based on his experiences of growing up in a migrant family in Southwest Sydney, 'Thai-riffic,' 'Con-nerd' and most recently 'Punchlines.'

Phommavanh says he wanted to highlight the lighter side of growing up as a migrant. "Not to gloss over the hardships and struggles, but also there's a lot of joy in discovering a new country and trying to fit in," he says.

He's one of the Asian-Australian authors presenting at this year's Sydney Writers Festival and has made it his mission to encourage other young people of diverse backgrounds to put pen to paper.