Studiomate Steve

Erika is an extremely talented artist and author with a vibrant personality and oozes charm and joy! We discuss her experiences in the children's book industry, her process, materials and ideas. And of course there are the usual book recommendations in Studiomate Steve Suggests and a couple of gripes in Steve's Peeves!

Richard (APaintedMouse) is brilliant and so calming to talk to with a wealth of witty bants and informative and insightful chat. He is the creator of very beautiful, thoughtful picture books and now board books, including Perdu, The Snow Lion and One Amazing Story. We talk all about his new counting book, his experiences with publishers and his beautiful art process. And Yorkies.

Catherine is hilarious, charming and a delight to talk to. We discuss her collabs with Julia Donaldson and Michael Morpurgo, her dog pawtrait commissions, baby clothing range and have lots of giggles along the way!

Harriet oozes sparkles and magic as she talks about her career from foundation course to multi-million selling author/illustrator success! We talk doll's houses, kindles, recommend our current favourite books, share a peeve or two and generally have great fun!

The brilliantly talented Sheena chats all things Pablo and Splash with insights into her work ethic and graphic novel-creating process. She reveals that she is a cricketer and also has a dog called Jeremy! We have some wonderful book recommendations and a couple of interesting peeves to discuss too!

Powerhouse pairing Lu & Kate talk about their new book 'The Busiest Beaver' so of course, expect a lot of giggles and fun! They suggest two cracking books and are generally awesome.

Effervescent author Sarah chats about all her latest books including 'Brenda's Revenge' and recommends two wonderful books. This episode also features the first 'Steve's Peeves' segment where we have a minor gripe about something/anything!

Mikey has created and directed myriad, beautiful animation projects and has now entered the world of children's picture books with his gorgeous debut 'The Cafe At The Edge Of The Woods' which we discuss, along with his work with Aardman, his views on AI and our current favourite books.

Paul is the PR and Brand Director at Andersen Press and chats to me about the role of a publicist within the children's book industry. We delve into brilliant books and also Vanderpump Rules, Love Is Blind and Below Deck - we love a bit of telly! Fun and informative, Paul is an excellent guest!

Comic book creator extraordinaire Jamie, best-known for Bunny V's Monkey and numerous The Phoenix characters, chats about his life/work balance and his earlier career working on The Dandy and a naturist publication amongst others! Also his penchant for gardening and his choice of books for the Studiomate Steve Suggests segment! 


Author extraordinaire Rachel talks about her upcoming picture book, young fiction AND middle grade titles plus her opinions on public events and the north/south divide in publishing.

Nadia chats about her early career as a magazine sub-editor, her switch to children's books, Grimwood 3 and lemon curd!

From his early days as a milliner right through to his Emmy award-winning tv show, David chats with warmth and humour about his career so far.

Author and bookseller Katie is a mind full of top tips and experience when it comes to both running a successful bookshop and writing fiction and picture books. A must-listen!

Illustrator of beautiful things and mega Columbo fan Penny chats about her RCA days, her workspace, publishing industry experience so far and juggling kids, cats and creativity!

Ruby may only just be starting out in the picture book world but boy has she already made a big impression! We discuss screen-printing, rejection, answer LOTS of listener questions and have really good giggle in the process!

Debut picture book illustrator Ella is a tour de force of talent. We discuss her rise from novelty book designer to her premiere publication by The Folio Society! Hairy flaps, paper engineering, Christmas adverts and much much more is discussed! And we both recommend our current favourite picture books!

A special 10 Year Anniversary special episode with author of the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam children's book series! We talk about where the initial idea came from for the first book and how the beloved, best-selling series has evolved over the years.

Designer, author, illustrator and all-round amazing cheery talent, Sharon talks to me about her collaborative process with Julia Donaldson, how she copes with flights to Oz and her insights into the children's publishing industry.

Harry was a joy to talk to and we discuss pencil roughs, the transition from uni to paid illustration work and loads more!

The king of middle grade covers is here! And he chats about rejection, style, his picture books and THE CHICKEN MAN!!!

Me and Fiona chat everything from her work with children's laureate Joseph Coelho, quiz shows to acting and traditional work methods. This episode also introduces 'Studiomate Steve Suggests...' the children's book review segment!

Author/illustrator/designer/witty man Jack Noel tells us all about his career, his thoughts and advice on book cover design, his love of Weetabix and being woke.

Julia is utterly charming and we have a really eye-opening conversation about her work, process, journey to illustrating hit books in the UK & US and lots of giggles in-between!

Author and illustrator of beautiful and hilarious picture books, including Dick The Delightful Duck (which we discuss extensively!) and many fiction covers and interiors. A super fun and informative episode.