Our Authors

Monica Violet Joy splits her time between the UK and the USA – and is a children’s book author as well as a multi award-winning writer, creator, showrunner, and director in the children’s animation and video game industry.

Monica has had a number of writer and producer/executive roles for several series and animated films, across major streaming platforms including Netflix and Nickelodeon. She was the Senior Producer and Executive in charge of the global children’s sensation, CoComelon, and received accolades from YouTube for growing the series to over 140 million subscribers in just under two years, helping to sell the property for nearly 3 billion USD.

Monica has also independently written, directed, and produced animated films, which have received accolades in festivals from around the world. She has been nominated for a Women of Inspiration Award by the Universal Women’s Network™, for her contributions to writing, the entertainment industry and activism fighting for women’s equality.

When Monica isn’t writing or creating stories, she enjoys spending time gallivanting around historic homes, hunting for the world’s best sticky toffee pudding, riding horses, enjoying afternoon tea, and chasing after her devilishly handsome Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Remington.

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Chris is a writer, illustrator, and performance poet. He has run creative writing and illustration workshops, and performed on stages, across the globe, with appearances at festivals, schools, and libraries.

Chris’ first book Bitey the Veggie Vampire was published in 2000, and since then he has published many poetry and story books, including titles The A-Z of Completely Made-up Dinosaurs and Don’t Put Dave in the Microwave!. His book, S.H.E.L.L. (Episode I) – The Horse Awakens, was nominated for the 2022 Big Book Award.

As well as scribbling pictures to accompany his work, Chris illustrates for other authors too, if they ask him nicely.

Chris has featured at many literary festivals, including The Edinburgh Book Festival, The Doha Book Festival and The Cheltenham Book Festival. His poetry performances and writing workshops have taken him all over the world, visiting schools in a number of different countries, including China, The Congo and Qatar, where Chris was writer in residence at the National Library.

Chris has had his poems and pictures broadcast on BBC TV and radio and has also worked for the British government and the British Council on various projects.

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Liz and Kate are author illustrators, who have created many children’s books over the years, their whimsical style delighting children and adults alike.
When it comes to both writing and drawing, they get their inspiration by getting into the mindset of a child – and they usually find that it is their initial writing and rough sketches that stick; the most raw, simple ideas often turn out to be the best!
Liz and Kate often get told that every time their images are looked at, something new is spotted – and they feel that even if the text is simple, the drawings can tell their own story. So a combination of both can be something quite magical for children to treasure and return to for years.

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Damien is an illustrator and author. After graduating from Arts University Bournemouth where he achieved a BA degree in Animation Production, he went on to work on the Oscar-nominated film ‘The Illusionist’, before accidentally falling into the world of publishing – and has loved it there ever since.

Being a very visual thinker, he imagines stories as moving pictures and loves to then enrich these stills with text, to fill in the gaps where images can’t. Damien is a lover of words and enjoys discovering new adjectives – his current favourites being discombobulated, hoity-toity, and bumfuzzled. With 12 years of experience in the publishing world, Damien is now very excited to be joining CWLA to further develop his ideas and progress with his writing career.

Damien lives in Cornwall and works from his home in a small studio whilst trying not to get distracted by the nearby beaches and moors.

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Katie Abey is a rainbow human committed to making a difference in the world, one cute frog and perturbed llama at a time!
As a child she used to view her sensitive traits as a flaw, but has now harnessed those characteristics into the superpower they are!
She now transmutes all of her deep feelings into characters and phrases that resonate deeply with others.
Alongside building her merchandise brand, Katie has illustrated 50 children’s books and counting – and has also created a shop and mystical event space in Matlock, Derbyshire. Punnydukes and The Room of Enchantment are places where like minded spirits can escape reality and enjoy some immersive and much needed inner-child magic.
Her way of viewing and translating the world encourages others to embrace the unique qualities that set them apart.

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“…the sketches, the quotes, the colours and the mind that put it all together has my deepest love and affection. It’s the only self help / motivational book I will ever read.” — Annie Chakraborty, Goodreads

“I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It does a wonderful job of representing a wide spectrum of feelings.” — Beanz187, TOPPSTA

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Simon P. Clark grew up in Britain, taught English in Japan, lived in America, and has now moved back to the UK.

Simon is a published author, who writes for middle grade children. He writes about how strange and big the world can be.

Simon’s debut novel, Eren, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection in the US and as Book of the Week by The Independent and The Bookseller. His other works include Not Yet Dark and Modern Grimmoire: Contemporary Fairy Tales, Fables & Folklore.

Simon likes weird books, tennis and donkeys, and does not like celery at all.

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“Sure-footed, distinctive, strange, poetic. Simon P. Clark is a truly interesting new voice” — David Almond, author of Skellig

“Clark, who doesn’t shy away from pushing his story to its darkest reaches. The ending will leave you shell-shocked.” — Rebecca Davies, Independent, TEEN BOOK OF THE MONTH

“EREN will both satisfy and excite your imagination.” — The Bookseller ‘Book of the Week’

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Anna was born in a sunny city in Eastern Europe. She spent a lot of her childhood at her family’s puppet theatre, growing up backstage amongst the puppets and set pieces. It is probably where her love for storytelling and illustration began. At home, Anna was surrounded by her father’s paints and pictures. She used to play with sketchbooks, which she continually filled with her crayons, page after page of big smiling suns with thick colourful rays.

Now a published illustrator and author, Anna still creates worlds which are bright and happy. With a focus on animal characters and animal/human relationships, she enjoys creating ageless pictures and stories, to delight both children and adults alike. She likes detailed illustrating, creating pictures which often feature ‘mini-stories’ within. Anna has an interest in using traditional painting / drawing materials such as watercolour and gouache or pen and ink but also works with Photoshop to maximize her work’s finish.
Since writing her first picture book I’m the Happiest, Anna has written four more picture books and three baby board books, and now can’t wait to get into her writing again after a few years looking after the family.

Anna studied at Sofia’s National School for Fine Art for five years in classical techniques and subjects, and then gained a BA in Fine & Art and Mural Painting from the National Academy of Arts. She now lives in England and since moving here has been writing and illustrating children’s books and also designing greeting cards for Two Bad Mice.

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Katie has loved writing and drawing from an early age. This childhood passion led her to study Illustration at the University of Central Lancashire, where she graduated in 2001 with first class honours. Katie then signed with the illustration agency Advocate and she has been a freelance illustrator ever since; over the last twenty years, she has illustrated hundreds of children’s books. It was, however, when she had her own children that Katie really started to put pen to paper. Inspired by her children, Archie and Olive, who continually make her laugh, she wanted to write about the things they experienced together. Her first title Olive Marshmallow was published in the UK and internationally, shortly followed by her second title Olive The Alien. Katie has also worked on a series of lift the flap baby books, which included developing animal characters (Katie’s absolute favourite subject!). Katie loves writing funny, silly, and different – and thinks never really growing up has helped her greatly as an author. For Katie, strong characters are key, with bucket loads of humour, as is always writing from the heart. Katie is grateful and truly excited to be working with Caroline and her hope is simply that her works will make children smile. Katie lives in Kent with her two children, partner Graham, miniature sausage dogs Winnie and Rollo, a cat and two guinea pigs. In her spare time, she is owned (and not the other way round!) by Winnie and Rollo, who are convinced that they are Dobermann size and must protect Kate from all things – from wheelie bins to falling leaves (to often what feels like an ant breaking wind!). She also works as an Art and Design supply teacher and greatly enjoys working with children with extra needs.

Barry Brandon started telling stories to his pets at a young age in rural Arkansas. He found a few people to listen to them when he got hired at Chuck E. Cheese to host birthday parties and play video games. After a few years counting beans, he wrote a short story and convinced some smart people to let him attend The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he tested his public-school upbringing against his ivy league peers. It was there he discovered everyone wears their underwear the exact same way and earned an MBA.

Sunshine and surfboards sounded great, so Barry headed west, where he met Mickey Mouse. At The Walt Disney Company, he traveled the world marketing all things Winnie the Pooh. 

Toy land came a’ calling, and when he answered, it was Barbie inviting him to help produce her entertainment career. Mattel asked if he could create something… anything… from a sketch of three monsters. He crafted a freaky-just-got-fabulous world and Monster High was born. He met will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas while looking for a theme song for Monster High; soon he was working with the Beats master himself as his Chief Marketing Officer.

Addicted to creating stories with quirky characters, Barry and his partners created Star Darlings. The Walt Disney Company liked it so much they acquired it in 2015.

His spouse then screwed everything up by designing a television series called Outlander. Off they went to live in Scotland where he joined forces with talented filmmakers obsessed with zombies and his YA novel Anna and the Apocalypse was unborn.   

Rachel Hurd-Wood is a writer and actress with twenty years of experience in film and TV. Her credits include Peter Pan (2003), Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2005), Dorian Gray (2009) and more recently, BBC’s Clique (2018). She’s worked successfully as a screenwriter, with TV scripts currently in development with Balloon and Hat Trick Productions respectively (‘Champion The Hobby Horse’ & ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’). She has worked on script development and creative consulting for Goldfinch Studios and has had prose and poetry published in The London Magazine.

Since becoming a mother, Rachel has been creating and developing children’s stories. Often surrounded by young children, she is perfectly placed to know what appeals to them. Her flair for narrative and excellent instinct for what captures children’s imagination brings a fresh, young and on-the-pulse voice to her writing. Her style leans towards classic sensibilities with a contemporary tone and feeling. She is passionate about inclusivity and equality, with particular interest in mental health and wellbeing.

A British Comedy Award-winning writer for BBC1’s Miranda, Paul has written for some of TV’s biggest shows, including TFI Friday, The Royal Variety Performance, Top Gear, and The BBC Music Awards. He’s the only writer to have co-written all ten seasons of Lee Mack’s Not Going Out. Winner of the BBC Radio Entertainment Contract Writer Titheridge Prize, his radio credits include The Now Show, The News Quiz, and Dead Ringers.

Paul created and wrote 10 episodes of Granny Anne’s Joke World, a children’s show for CBeebies Radio starring Maureen Lipman. He topped the Audible charts with his self-written/-presented 2019 Audible Original Podcast, Christmas: What The Falalala. He also teaches comedy writing for BBC Writer’s Room and London Screenwriter’s Festival.

As a stand-up comic, Paul won the ITV Take the Mike Award in 2002 and has been described as “Ingenious” by the Evening Standard. He’s supported Milton Jones on tour, and is one of the few to perform stand-up at The Comedy Store and several cathedrals.

Paul broadcasts ‘Pause For Thought’ slots on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, and regularly hosts on BBC Sussex/BBC Surrey. He’s recently written and staged his third play, Three Wise Men, and is a columnist for various publications. Books include So a Comedian Walks into a Church (one of The Independent’s top comedy books of the year), a range of children’s books, and Amazon Top 100 bestseller Hark! The Biography of Christmas.

Sally Anne Garland loved drawing and stories from a very early age. After studying illustration at Edinburgh College Of Art she worked for many years as an in-house Designer/ Illustrator for a number of retail suppliers, before becoming a full-time freelance Children’s Illustrator with Advocate Art Ltd in 2010.

Having successfully had her first author/illustrator picture books, Share and Don’t Speak With Your Mouth Full published with Little Tiger Press; she then went on to work closely with Caroline to have a further four Authored/Illustrated picture books published through Collaborate Agency.

She now currently lives in Glasgow with her partner and son.

Julia knew from the age of five what she wanted to do for a living—draw pictures! After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration and then working in the greeting card industry (and getting covered in glitter every day!) she finally moved onto her dream job, illustrating children’s books. She found that each of her pictures had a story behind it so she started writing them down. Her first authored book, “The Sketchbook” was published by Peter Pauper Press in March 2019.

She lives in a small village in England with her husband and two children, who provide plenty of inspiration!

Hercule Van Wolfwinkle is the inimitable genius behind ‘Portraits By Hercule’ a viral fundraising campaign which has raised over £100,000 for charity, and seen requests for pet portraits flooding into Hercule’s inbox in their tens of thousands from all over the globe. 

Hercule’s self-proclaimed ‘ultra-realistic’ style, coupled with his hilarious animal biographies and fake customer reviews have led to a huge social media following and worldwide media coverage.

In 2020 he was recognised by the Prime Minister with a Points of Light Award and has been named by The Big Issue as one of their 100 Change Makers for 2021 (A list of innovators, creators and radical thinkers that we believe will be doing remarkable things to make the world a better place for others). Hercule’s work has been exhibited publicly and his first book Rubbish Pet Portraits was a Sunday Times Best Seller. 

Away from the fundraising, the drawing and writing, Hercule loves spending time with his wife and son and the family dog, Narla. 

Louise is an Illustrator and Author living in the North East. She works from home in a small studio being supervised by 3 very noisy and naughty Jack Russell Terriers. After graduating from Newcastle College with a BA Hons in illustration and Animation, she turned her attention to children’s books. 

To date, she has illustrated over 70 books.

Originally from Cheltenham, Lucy studied illustration in Exeter before moving to London to work in publishing. After joining Advocate Art as a freelance artist and illustrating many books for other authors, Lucy fulfilled her dream of writing her own children’s book in 2013 with Squirrel’s Busy Day. Since then, she has written and illustrated many other stories and has also written for other illustrators. Lucy works from her home studio in Manchester, her lovely rescue dog, Dina, always at her feet. 

Sue Downing lives and works in a little Eco-house in Newcastle upon Tyne with her husband, two children and a one-eyed cat called Martha. Since leaving Edinburgh College of art in the late 1990’s, Sue has worked in-house, on a freelance basis, as a book illustrator, product/licensed character developer, a designer/maker for jewellery, greetings cards and wrapping paper. Her inspirations are many – from knitted toys, Japanese design, and Scandinavian Chic to Modernism, Dick Bruna and Info graphics. Sue is drawn to anything that is quirky, humorous and minimal in design, which is reflected in her illustrations.

Sue is the author and illustrator of ‘Circus Mum’ a humorous and clever book highlighting how much each mum has to juggle every day!

Dubravka studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design in the USA and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia, where she got a degree in painting. She published her first book, ‘A Special Day’, in the USA at the age of eighteen. Since then, Dubravka has devoted herself to children’s book illustration. She is very proud of her long-standing collaboration with UNICEF, for which she’s designed more than 80 cards and posters. Dubravka’s work was recognised by a prize from the Oshima Museum of Children’s Picture Books in Japan. Her illustration work was printed and awarded by 3×3 – a magazine of contemporary illustrations. Her books have featured on CBeebies Bedtime Hour. All her travels to incredible places such as the Amazon rainforest, African Savannah, Borneo, the Galapagos Islands, remote Pacific coral reefs, the Arctic and Antarctica are a constant source of inspiration for her. For years, she has volunteered in projects for the protection of the environment and animals.

Jana Novotny Hunter was born in Czechoslovakia and grew up in England. A graduate of Hornsey College of Art, she spent many years in America where she worked as a Textile Designer, Teacher, Writer and Mum. Jana has written over fifty books for children, including the prize-winning story of a deaf girl’s struggle to become oral, ‘Read My Lips’. Now and author and an illustrator, Jana enjoys portraying strong characters who overcome obstacles with humour and imagination. Stories that youngsters can relate to are key to her writing. As a Conference Speaker and Lecturer, Jana focuses on the relationship between image and text in picture books, an expertise that has led to becoming an editor as well as a reviewer.

At home with kids, whatever their age, Jana loves to visit schools and libraries or run writing workshops. Her lively presentations are popular with both teachers and pupils, offering the kind of fun in learning that enhances and supports the National Curriculum. Usually found in her studio, where her Terrier is lulled to sleep by the clatter of the keyboard, Jana lives in a converted chapel in the Suffolk countryside with a man, dog and a piano, There, she is surrounded by sheep, cows and wild deer – a perfect place to write and draw.

Clare’s imagination and passion for creating was strongly influenced by growing up in the countryside surrounded by nature. If she wasn’t drawing or painting she would be making something.

She trained at UWE Bristol and then Glyndŵr University in Illustration for Children’s Publishing graduating in 2004. The next 10 years were spent in the greeting card/gift industry; designing, commissioning and art directing artists in London.

In 2014 she became a freelance illustrator/designer and moved into her own studio space at Hackney Downs Studios, London, giving Clare the opportunity to focus on more creative projects, including greeting cards, wall stickers, homewares and children’s illustration. 

Clare now lives in North Somerset with her family who are a never ending source of inspiration!!

Artist and author Simon Abbott has been illustrating and writing children’s books, games and stationery for over 15 years.

He specialises in bold colours and delightful characters of all kinds and describes his work as fun, fresh and happy.

His easy style has instant appeal and helps to communicate complex ideas and concepts in a flash. Whether he is drawing playground fun, astronauts, dinosaurs or monkeys swinging through trees, his art is always engaging and is guaranteed to make children smile.

Simon lives and works in Suffolk, UK, with his partner, their three boys and two cats called Brian and Sheila. When he hasn’t got a pen or paintbrush in his hand, he enjoys singing in the ‘Suffolk Soul Singers’, camping at music festivals, running and chocolate ice-cream.

Lou Treleaven started writing just as soon as she could dictate words to her mum, and was soon writing her own stories, plays and poems, all of which she still has filling up a big cupboard.  After being forced to grow up, writing many more books and filling up another cupboard or two, her first picture book was published in 2016.  Her second picture book, The Snowflake Mistake, was read on CBeebies Bedtime by Suranne Jones, and she is now the author of over 20 published children’s books.  Lou also has plays published with Lazy Bee Scripts, has written for Writing Magazine and is the author of the Social Media for Writers chapter in the Handbook of Creative Writing (2nd ed).  She lives in a village in Bedfordshire with her husband and grown up children and likes reading, art, gaming and her cat Badger.

Stephanie spent many years writing press releases and technical papers before realising it was much more fun to make up her own stories. She enjoys writing children’s books and poems where the perspective is flipped around and adds a dash of humour whenever appropriate (and even when it’s inappropriate). Her stories and poems have been awarded various prizes around the world, most recently winning the Catherine Fenerty Humour Prize. 

Stephanie is the author of picture books Arabella and the Magic Pencil and of push-and-pop sensory storytime books, Clownfish Aren’t Funny and Don’t Laugh Giraffe. Her latest book, Hello Shark!, was just published with Imagine That. She is also a book reviewer for Armadillo Magazine. Too old to blame it on youth, she still hasn’t settled down and has visited all seven continents, lived in four countries, and become a citizen of three. At present, she can be found in London with her husband and young son.

GR Dix lives an exciting double life as both a scientific consultant and an author of children’s books.

His passion for writing was awakened through exploring children’s books – both classic and new – with his three grandchildren.

GR strongly believes in the importance of chapter books for children, both for eager younger readers and for encouraging reluctant older readers. He enjoys school visits, which always provide a stimulating experience for the children, and has built up a supportive network of teachers and other authors.

In his day job, GR provides chemical compliance services to companies on a freelance basis, specialising in chemical classification and safety information and assessments. If you look closely some of these scientific methods and concepts may sneak into his writing.

GR lives with his wife in the Midlands, UK, and is a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Humanists UK and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSc).

Thea Hay is a London based fiction and non-fiction author and editor of Children’s books. Her love of books has taken over her whole life and has a room full of books from floor to ceiling, preferring the ‘real thing’ over an electronic version. She loves living in London and during the rare times she is not writing, she enjoys walks with her husband, their two children and small dog, Harvey!

Sean Dooley is a secondary school English teacher with a passion for writing stories for young people. After graduating from Exeter University, he completed a PGCE in English and Drama before beginning his teaching career in Cambridge. Here his commitment to encouraging young people to read, write and think creatively led to a two-year Masters degree in Arts, Culture and Education at Cambridge University.

Sean has written two plays which are published by LazyBeeScripts and have been performed in the UK, America, Australia and New Zealand. His novel ‘1666’ won the WriteMentor Children’s Novel Award 2021 and was shortlisted in the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2019.

Having recently spent two years teaching in Shanghai, Sean currently lives in Cambridge with his wife and son who are both very tolerant of his love of Lego. He is a member of the Cambridge branch of the National Writing Project and in his spare time he enjoys slack-lining, martial arts and unicycling.

Kate Aasa and is a debut writer based in London. 

She has always loved writing and wrote her first poem when she was 7. Since then she has always been the go-to poem / speech / song writer for family and friends.  Kate has a degree in English Literature and a Masters in Digital Communications. When she is not writing, Kate is a Marketing and Communications consultant. This work allows her to be creative and meet a lot of new people. Two things she adores.

Since having children, Kate has discovered a passion for writing children’s stories. She writes stories predominantly in rhyme for her two sons who are 5 and 7. Kate hopes that they will one day be enjoyed by a wider audience. 

Emily is a Birmingham based, British music/entertainment journalist and children’s author currently writing for Prog, Metal Hammer, Record Collector and Spin magazines. She has previously written for Acoustic, Guitar & Bass, Acoustic Guitar (US), Australian Guitar (AUS), Blunt (AUS), Big Cheese and The Skinny. She currently writes in-house for New York based publisher, Little Hippo Books, with books being published in the near future. 

She has a real passion for creative writing and has always loved children’s books. As a child, Emily grew up reading a lot and loved writing stories, she was always scribbling words or drawing art which pushed her to study BA Hons Graphic Design: Visual Communication, before embarking on a Music Journalism course, followed by an NCTJ Multimedia Journalism Diploma. 

Emily has  written numerous novelty books and picture books, and was a Finalist in last year’s Page Turner Awards with a children’s picture book Ruby’s Big Red Heart – A Celebration of Loving Equally, for which she won a prize and was on the ‘Highly Commended’ list. 

Dunni lives in London and works as a graphic designer. She has worked across various different sectors, and has always had a huge fondness for illustration.She loves drawing colourful characters and telling stories. She aims to create diverse picture books where all types of children feel included. She is inspired by people and their individuality, and all their little quirks.

Soph is a queer author from a northern, working-class background. After moving from Merseyside to London to study Film and Television Production, she graduated in 2016 with a love for screenwriting. Shortly after she decided to pour her creativity into writing middle-grade horror. She is currently living in Kent and working as a freelance copywriter. She loves cats, bats, corvids of all kinds, a good hot beverage and finding any excuse to dress in costume. Her work is strongly influenced by folk tales and fairy stories, and she is passionate about the lifelong impact these tales have on us.