Steve Antony

About Me

Short Bio:

Born in England, raised in New Mexico, Steve Antony is a best-selling, award-winning writer and/or illustrator of 25 children’s books, 8 of which have been nominated for the Carnegie Medal For Illustration (previously the Kate Greenaway Medal) and is best known for his ongoing Mr Panda series which has sold over 1.4 million copies worldwide. Steve is colour-blind and usually uses limited colour palettes. His picture books include Rainbowsaurus, The Queen’s Hat, Unplugged, Amazing, Green Lizards Vs Red Rectangles and Cat Nap: the first book in his new toddler series.

Steve is Swindon Libraries Patron to Children’s Reading Services and an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust. In 2023 Steve was appointed School Library Association’s ‘School Libraries Champion’. As part of his role, he illustrates the front cover of the SLA’s quarterly magazine, TSL - The School Librarian.

Steve illustrated the all-new Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, adapted by Peter Bently, and adapted two songs from Tim Minchin’s Matilda the Musical into picture books: When I Grow Up and Sometimes You Have To Be A Little Bit Naughty. Steve also collaborated with Alexandra Strick and a group of children to create You Can! - Kids Empowering Kids and contributed work towards LGBTQ+ anthology Proud, Drawing Europe Together and Kind and illustrated the cover for the 70th anniversary edition of Famous Five: Five Have A Wonderful Time. Steve lives in South West England with his husband and cat.

Long Bio:

Born in Swindon England and raised in Alamogordo New Mexico, I have enjoyed drawing and writing for as far back as I can remember. My mum is a painter and charity shop manager, my dad is a farrier and my step-dad was in the US Air Force. I have 3 brothers.

I discovered I was colour-blind at a very young age: a condition which has come to play a big part in the way I create picture books.

Borrowing illustrated books from both my public and school library inspired me to draw and write my own.

My family and I returned to the UK in the 1990s and I studied for a BTEC in Design at Cirencester College and a HND in Illustration at Swindon College whilst working part-time in many jobs including checkout operator at Tesco, wrapping Christmas presents for eToys, cleaning Swindon Council offices, working in a Cirencester fudge shop (that was the best one) and data entry at WH Smith’s Swindon head office.

Upon graduating from Swindon College I couldn’t find paid work as an illustrator so I settled into a job as a call centre shift worker at Thames Water and paid off all my student debt. After 10 years of doodling and daydreaming, I took voluntary redundancy. The severance paid for my place on the Children’s Illustration MA course at Angla Ruskin University in Cambridge.

In 2013 I graduated with a Distinction and several dummy picture books including The Queen’s Hat, Green Lizards Vs Red Rectangles and Would You Like a Doughnut (which became Please Mr Panda).

Fast forward to today and over one million of my books have sold worldwide and they’ve been translated into many languages.

From cake raffles to art auctions, with every in-person book launch I like to hold a fundraiser. I am an ambassador to the National Literacy Trust and have helped support Colourblind Awareness, Coram Beanstalk, My AFK, PAMIS, Three Peas and The Willow Foundation to name few. My Queen’s Hat inspired Shaun the Sheep statue sold at auction for £15,000 in aid of Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Charity.

In my role as Patron to Swindon Libraries Children's Reading Services I regularly meet with local librarians to brainstorm ideas for events and competitions. Every year we hold an annual art competition for the Borough of Swindon. I also designed their children’s library card.

As part my role as the School Library Association’s ‘School Libraries Champion’ I illustrate library-themed covers for their quarterly magazine, The School Librarian.

Each year I launch a creative nationwide activity to help raise awareness of colourblindness. In 2022, the campaign, which centred around redesigning The Queen’s Hat, was highlighted by BBC Points West and garnered much publicity due to coinciding with The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

As an ambassador to The National Literacy Trust I take part in local and nationwide campaigns. My 2023 live draw-along with them attracted over 60,000 participants.

My Mr Panda series and The Queen Collection are very popular. Mr Panda has been optioned for TV by Magic Light pictures. The Queen’s Hat was adapted into a musical concert by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Green Lizard’s Vs Red Rectangles and its even wordier sequel Green Lizards and Red Rectangles and the Blue Ball both deal with war and division. They do so in a way that’s abstract, conceptual and as Wall Street Journal said, ‘comically unorthodox’.

Unplugged chimes in on the issue of screen time. Betty Goes Bananas is about temper tantrums, and Monster in the Hood reminds us never to judge the book by its cover.

I am red-green colour-blind which is why I prefer using limited colour palettes. When I Grow Up written by Tim Minchin was actually my first full-colour book.

I do visit schools, libraries, colleges, bookshops and literary festivals. I particularly enjoy speaking with adults about visual storytelling. In spite being a homebody I have toured quite extensively!

More recently, in reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic I started a daily broadcast. Most of my videos are no longer accessible, however I have uploaded some of the StoryTime videos to my YouTube channel. In April and during the UK’s first national lockdown, videos of Please Mr Panda were being uploaded every 2-3 hours, so I decided to read it myself (below). I think I still need to work on the voices! I’ve also added below a little video I recently did for Book Trust.

I live in Swindon with my husband and cat. I love to cook, hang out with friends, eat chocolate, binge-watch Netflix and curl up with a good book.

Here is a gallery of photos from my last 10 years as a published writer and illustrator. And below that is a list of all my books to date.

BookS I have both written and illustrated

BIRD BATH

CAT NAP

RAINBOWSAURUS - Nominated for the Carnegie Medal For Illustration (previously the Kate Greenaway Medal), Junior Design Awards 2024 Bronze Medal for Best Picture Book, Shortlisted for the School Reading List Award’s Children’s Picture Book of the Year

AMAZING - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2020, Shortlisted for the Booktrust Storytime Prize, Nominated on the International List of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities by The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)

UNPLUGGED - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2019

GREEN LIZARDS VS RED RECTANGLES - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2017, Longlisted for the UKLA (UK Literary Association) 2017 Award

GREEN LIZARDS, RED RECTANGLES AND THE BLUE BALL - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2020

THE QUEEN'S HAT - Won the Oscars Book Prize, Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Prize, Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2015, Shortlisted for the 'Read it Again' Award, Shortlisted for the Sheffield's Children's Book Award, Shortlisted for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards, Adapted into a LSO concert

THE QUEEN'S HANDBAG

THE QUEEN'S PRESENT 

THE QUEEN'S LIFT-OFF

PLEASE, MR PANDA - Longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2016, Winner of the Oxfordshire Book Awards (picture book category), Winner of the Early Years Niagara Literary Award, Longlisted for the UKLA (UK Literary Association) 2016 Award, Shortlisted for the Nottingham Children's Book Award 2016, Gold Star Award from  NAPPA (National Parenting Publications Awards), Picture Book of the Month at Barnes & Noble, Honoured by Society Of Illustrators

I'LL WAIT, MR PANDA

THANK YOU, MR PANDA

GOODNIGHT, MR PANDA - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2019

WE LOVE YOU, MR PANDA

WASH YOUR HANDS, MR PANDA

MR PANDA'S COLOURS

MR PANDA'S FEELINGS

BETTY GOES BANANAS - Shortlisted for the Nottingham Children's Book Award 2015

BETTY GOES BANANAS IN HER PYJAMAS - Shortlisted for the Dundee Book Award

MONSTER IN THE HOOD - Nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2017, Shortlisted for the St.Helens Schools Library Service Book Awards 2017

Books I have illustrated but not written

FAMOUS FIVE: FIVE HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME (cover art)

TIM MINCHIN'S WHEN I GROW UP

TIM MINCHIN’S SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE BIT NAUGHTY

IAN FLEMING’S CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG adapted by Peter Bently

YOU CAN! written by Alexandra Strick and a team of children

WE CAN! written by Alexandra Strick and a team of children

Books I have contributed art to

PROUD

DRAWING EUROPE TOGETHER

KIND