Laurence Anholt
About Author
Laurence has been described as "one of the most versatile authors writing for children today " [William Watt]. He spent his early childhood in Holland, where he developed a lasting passion for art - especially the work of van Gogh. Laurence studied painting for eight years and took his Master's Degree at the Royal Academy of Art in London.
He and his wife Catherine are one of the world's leading writer and illustrator teams. Double Gold Award winners of the Smarties Book Prize, they were included in the Independent on Sunday's Top 10 Children's Authors in Britain and in the Top 100 Most Borrowed Authors from UK Libraries.
Laurence is a much-sought-after public speaker and has appeared at the European Council of International Schools Conference, the UK's Northern Children's Book Festival, the Cheltenham Festival, the Edinburgh Festival and the Hay-on-Wye Festival. His recent activities have included a reception at Buckingham Palace and helping to judge the prestigious Nestl Smarties Award.
The Anholts' titles have featured on TV, video and CD Rom; several titles are available in Braille editions.
The Anholts actively support a number of literacy and reading organisations and are especially passionate about libraries. In 1998 they were commissioned by the UK Government to produce a booklet, Babies Love Books, for the Bookstart scheme - the book is given free of charge to new parents to encourage them to share books with their babies from an early age.
The Anholts work from their home in Lyme Regis, in south-west England, and have opened an extraordinary children's bookshop, named Chimp and Zee after their best-selling series, in their home town.
Author link
Interview
CATHERINE AND LAURENCE USUALLY WORK TOGETHER. WHO DOES WHAT?
"This is complicated!" Laurence explains." I write all the books and Catherine has illustrated about half of them. However, I write for several other artists, (including Arthur Robins, Tony Ross, Martin Chatterton and Sheila Moxley). To make things even more confusing, I also illustrate my own books, in particular the bestselling series about great artists published by Frances Lincoln".
WHAT ARE YOUR INSPIRATIONS?
"Family life has always been the biggest influence, and we get many ideas from our three children, Claire and the twins, Tom and Maddy, who road-test every book."
WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
''We live and work in a rambling farmhouse in the woods above the sea at Lyme Regis in Dorset. Parts of the house date back to the 1700s and the place is reputedly haunted by an old lady who stirs a pot in the kitchen. We've never seen her - perhaps my cooking is keeping her away!"
