After taking redundancy from a call-centre, Steve Antony pursued his dream job. Five years later, he has written and illustrated several picture books, including the bestselling Please Mr Panda series. Steve also illustrated Tim Minchin's When I Grow Up from Tim’s hit musical Matilda and illustrated a cover of The Famous Five. Steve is Patron to Swindon Libraries Children’s Services and recently designed a new children's library card for them. 

Steve very kindly donated the proceeds of his print sales at the launch of The Queen’s Hat in Waterstones Piccadilly in 2016. He has also been a great help in promoting our work in the South West where he lives and gave an amazing talk and workshop to a school in Swindon as part of BookFest 2018.

Read more about Steve's books here

I was once a reluctant reader, so I know all too well how reading can truly build bridges, open doors and install confidence. The Coram Beanstalk staff and volunteers are making such a positive impact to the lives of so many children, and I’m delighted that they’ve branched out to my hometown, Swindon. Getting to know the team really has been great.