Hello. I’m Matt.
I created my first story when I was five. It had a few words and a cartoon. It was rude and my teacher threw it in the bin (also rude) but it made the kid opposite me almost wet his pants and to be honest, that felt pretty amazing.
So when I was seven I decided I wanted to make up stories and find a way to get someone to pay me for it. That’s not as easy as it sounds and it took me 25 years to work it out, but hey, I got there in the end. Follow your dreams, kids!
Along the way I wrote all sorts of different things and I drew all sorts of silly stuff. I worked as a checkout-chick, a cheese-grater, an accounts clerk, a mail boy and eventually a graphic designer and art director. I even worked alone in a warehouse for a while. That was weird.
I live in Sydney, which as far as I’m concerned, it just about one of the best places in the world and I don’t know why you would ever leave. In fact, most people don’t. My studio is ten minutes walk from the beach and I get to spend a heap of time with my kids and grow mangoes in my backyard.
I create book series for little kids through to middle-grade chapter books. I run a company called Imaginum with my wife, bestselling author Beck Stanton, and we launch a new book series every year so watch this space. There’s new stuff all the time. My Funny Kid series debuted as the #1 Australian kids’ book and is now sold all around the world and I’ve now put 1 million funny books into the hands of kids. Given that all those books are supposed to be funny, if you guess that every one of those books gets at least one smile from at least one kid, then that means I’ve been able to use my imagination to create 1 million smiles.
Crazy, huh?
Here are some facts you might need for your book report:
Date of Birth: 24 December 1983 (yep, Christmas Eve!)
First book published: There is a Monster Under My Bed Who Farts with my mate Tim Miller
How many books have you published? 28
Favourite food? Mangoes (and we have a giant mango tree in our backyard!)
Favourite colour? Black
Favourite animal? Orcas (one day I really want to see them in the wild. Interesting side fact, although they’re referred to as killer whales orcas have never killed people in the wild, only when we’ve imprisoned them in small swimming pools. OK, I’ll stop now.)
Do I have any pets? Yes! A cat called Audrey. My wife wanted to name one of our kids Audrey and I was like … nah, so the cat got it instead.
Do you have any kids? Four! And they’re the best!
Can I see photos of them? No! Go away.
Favourite book I've read: Peter Pan (this changes so come back and check)
Favourite book I’ve made: That’s like trying to pick one of my favourite kids. I can’t do that!
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you get your inspiration?
I like to think about making books for people. So I think about kids I’ve met or enjoyed hanging out with and I think about what I could create that they might enjoy. I get inspiration when I think about who is going to read it.
Can you send me a free book?
Unfortunately I can’t do that. Did you know authors have to buy their own books? Well, we do. So, sorry! I don’t have any to give away. Sometimes there are competitions that my publisher runs though, so keep an eye on my Facebook page for those.
Can I get a signed book?
The best way to do this is to come to one of my events if you can. Follow me on the socials for news about that.
Are your books going to be made into movies?
I get asked this a lot and the answer is: that’s not really up to me. My job is to create the best stories I can and then someone who makes movies can talk to me about turning one of my stories into a TV show or movie. Those conversations have happened. Sometimes they don’t get very far. If something comes together, trust me, I’ll certainly let you know!
What’s something no one knows about you?
I’m ridiculously good at claw machines. No, seriously.
Can you give me personal advice?
You mean about problems you might be having at school or at home? I’m not really the best person to help you with that stuff because I don’t know your individual situation. The best people to get that sort of advice from are people who know you and love you. That might be a teacher or parent or carer or brother or sister. It could be a doctor or a social worker or your school counselor. If you’re in Australia, there’s also the Kids Helpline which is fantastic. Grab a phone and call them on: 1800 55 1800
Can you read/edit my school assignment?
No. I can’t do that, I’m sorry. Lots of kids send me links to their google doc assignment and if I worked on all your assignments I’d never have time to make new stories for you to read. Just do your best and you’ll learn from your mistakes.
What do you use to make books?
I do all of my drawing and writing digitally. That means I have a big digital tablet that I draw onto with a special pen and my lines come straight into the computer. I draw just like I would onto paper, but I don’t waste all those trees with all my mistakes.
Can you speak at my school?
Maybe! Your teacher can always enquire about that by sending me an email.