Steve Antony is the award-winning author and illustrator of The Queen’s Hat and the bestselling Mr Panda series, which has sold over 1.4 million copies and been translated into more than 23 languages. Over the past decade, he has written and/or illustrated 29 picture books, celebrated for their humour, warmth and distinctive visual style.

Born in England and raised in New Mexico, Steve now lives in South West England with his husband and two rescue cats. After being made redundant from a call centre in 2010, he decided to follow his lifelong dream of becoming an author and illustrator. Red–green colour-blind, Steve has worked with Colour Blind Awareness to promote understanding of colour vision deficiency and was featured on BBC News for his national school campaign.

As Patron of Swindon Libraries Children’s Reading Services, Steve champions literacy nationwide, supporting the National Literacy Trust, School Library Association, and other organisations through school visits, creative events and outreach. In 2022, Swindon Libraries introduced an annual “Steve Antony Day”, celebrated across all 14 borough libraries.

His 2024 picture book Rainbowsaurus, about a two-dad family’s search for a colourful dinosaur, won The School Reading List Best Picture Book Award and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, his eighth nomination. He has also illustrated Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (adapted by Peter Bently), with artwork from the book exhibited at Mottisfont House as part of a show marking the 60th anniversary of Ian Fleming’s original classic. Steve has also adapted Tim Minchin’s Matilda the Musical songs into picture books and contributed to anthologies including Proud, Drawing Europe Together and Kind.

In 2024, to celebrate ten years as a published author, Steve embarked on a month-long UK library tour, visiting schools and libraries in disadvantaged areas across 13 towns and cities - a route that spelled RAINBOWSAURUS. His free Rainbowsaurus Library Trail followed, praised by librarians as “like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

A graduate of Anglia Ruskin University’s MA in Children’s Book Illustration (Distinction), Steve continues to support numerous charities and organisations through his work, including the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust, Coram Beanstalk, Read for Good, and the School Library Association.

Steve is represented by Emily Talbot at United Agents.