Some notes from the WLUG meeting on Debian and packaging:
To create Debian packages, install:
dpkg-dev, file, gcc, g++, libc6-dev, make, patch, perl, dh-make, debhelper, fakeroot, gnupg and lintian.
Investigate package with dpkg --info file, dpkg --contents file and lintian file
The official reference for package building is the "Debian New Maintainer's Guide", available at http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/
The "Debian Policy Manual" is also an invaluable reference with lots of the finer details and information on making your packages comply with the Debian Policy (a must if you are trying to get them in to the actual distribution), get it at http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/
3 pages link to DebianPackaging: