Antony Wootten

I have been an illustrator in my spare time for many years, alongside my other full-time and part-time jobs. Since 2020, I have been a full-time freelancer in three fields: illustration, writing and publishing. As an illustrator, I am able to format book jackets and interiors, so I can illustrate a client's book, as well as format and publish it for them.

I work digitally, using various pieces of software, including Rebelle, ArtRage, Clip Studio, Corel Painter, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and the Affinity range of software.

I favour a painterly style with visible brush marks and an appearance of real, natural media such as oil paint and watercolour. Rebelle is especially effective in simulating natural media. I love to draw black and white line art too.

In 2012 I decided it was time for a complete career change. I accepted a full-time job in sales with the educational software company 2Simple Software (Developers of Purple Mash). My new job kept me in close contact with the education system, regularly meeting with teachers and/or the SLT to demonstrate the company’s software.

In 2011, I self-published my first book, a mid-grade novel entitled A Tiger Too Many. The website LoveReading4Kids described it as 'enchanting from the word go', and made it their debut of the month! One teacher said of my second novel, Grown-ups Can't Be Friends With Dragons, "Picked this book up on Saturday night and couldn't put it down until it was finished. Gripping story. Each chapter left me wanting more!!! I just had to know how it ended. As a primary school teacher I could relate the main character's feelings to some of the children I have worked with, and we can all relate to feeling that the world is against us sometimes. What an excellent read. Can't wait for more!"

I write freelance for the education market. In the last couple of years I've written 27 books for a variety of publishers including OUP, 2Simple and Buttercup Publishing. This includes group reading fiction texts for upper key stage 2 and levelled fiction and non-fiction reading scheme books for key stage 1, as well as my own self-published mid-grade novels. I've also written various other texts including reading assessment materials for the 2Eskimos Reading Assessment system and key skills practice books for pre-school children. I am always delighted to receive writing commissions so please don't hesitate to get in touch!

As an author, I love to visit primary schools, delivering assemblies and workshops to help get KS2 children excited about writing and reading. You can find out about my books, and what I have to offer as a visiting author, here: www.antonywootten.co.uk (click on 'Schools'). Please email me to find out more or to book a visit: [email protected].

Here is a piece of feedback I’ve had from a recent school visit:

“Informed, educational, enthusiastic, entertaining, humorous, engaging.”

“A fantastic storyteller.”

“The children were engaged in the activities and mesmerised by Antony’s story telling.”

Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes”

Various teachers at Christ Church CE Primary School, Surbiton

There’s plenty more feedback on my website, here: https://antonywootten.co.uk/Schools1.html.