Hello! I’m Anthony. Welcome.

I’ve always loved to exaggerate, and that’s why I enjoy being a children’s author – you’re allowed to let your imagination run wild and make stuff up!

At the moment, I’m writing a series of middle-grade pirate adventure books for Guppy Books as well as doing some picture books for other publishers. One of these is called The Wish Fish.

I’ve written books, scripts and articles for Nickelodeon, Disney, Harpercollins, Macmillan, Dreamworks, BBC, Guardian, The Wrap, Haymarket Publishing (Children & Young People Now), Parragon, Paramount, CiTV and have trained professional scriptwriters in Los Angeles on how to write for children. I’ve also written scripts for Doctor Who comics and been a professional writing competition judge for the prestigious Bath Novel Award.

As a qualified teacher and experienced youth worker of 17 years, I’ve worked across primary, secondary and college education ages, mostly with children with SEND. I’ve run fun Science workshops – making tons of yucky, slurpy slime with children aged 3 to 14 – and hosted at the Edinburgh Book Festival Imagination Lab (entertaining 8000 kids in 20 days!). I also teach adults creative writing and am a member of the Golden Egg Academy, the Society of Authors, and SCBWI.

I’ve travelled a lot and lived in the Californian Redwood Forest, Portsmouth, Los Angeles, Bath, Devon, Scotland and Wales but – for now – I live with my mischievous, adventurous black cat, Watson, in Frome.

I love eating chocolate mini-rolls, dunking Digestive biscuits in tea (they have much-misunderstood magical powers that help you write), walking in the countryside, and using telepathy to ask my cat, Watson, to bring me breakfast in bed every morning (ha, I wish!).

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I’ve written and edited a lot of different books, most of them for children. Many have been commissioned for big companies like Disney, which means I wrote them without my name going on them.

For instance, I bet you didn’t know that I wrote and edited the children’s book version of The Pirates of the Caribbean film? Or the children’s book version of Cars 2? Well, yes I did. I also had a hand in a free Doctor Who book that came with the comic Doctor Who Adventures I used to write for.

Right now, I’m working on a middle-grade adventure book series for Guppy Books and several picture books, including The Wish Fish.

I also read “professionally” and review children’s books for brilliant book website, My Book Corner. This site is for parents to use to help them choose the best books for their kids, do check it out.

I love making slime! Then again, who doesn’t? It’s slippery, slurpy and very satisfying when you get it into your hands and squeeze it until it dribbles everywhere.

Yes, I know I’m a grown man, but as I teach fun and interactive science classes for young children – with the renowned Devon-based Sciencedipity – I get to show children how to chemically activate PVA glue into a semi-solid: make slime in another words!

It is, of course, all in the name of learning about chemistry, how to use science equipment safely, and getting children intrigued about what science is, and how fun it can be.

As Sciencedipity is led by Biomedical Scientist and qualified teacher, Ruth Maclaren, we run professional learning experiences under the government’s important Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) scheme. We travel around and promote the benefit of discovering these four education areas for later in life.

Previously, I ran an exciting community art and heritage project in Bideford, North Devon. Called Way of the Wharves, it was about creating renewed knowledge and pride in the maritime history of the old East-the-Water wharves that were used by Napoleon during the 1800s.

Myself and a dedicated group of volunteers organised events, art workshops, education programmes, recordings of oral histories, designed tourist information panels, did guided walks, and researched stories of how people lived and worked around the quayside and port of Bideford.

Once an important, strategic port for worldwide trade and ship building, Bideford’s rich heritage and tidal estuary lends itself to be regenerated for generations who know nothing about this.

I love doing work that helps motivate people to come together to build a better and more positive community environment.

I’m now a Trustee of the scheme, and you can follow what the Way of the Wharves team are up to on our Facebook page.

I used to have two wonderful, mischievous and cuddly black cats called Sherlock and Watson, but sadly Sherlock died so now I just have lovely Watson.

Watson was born on Friday the 13th and I adopted him from a farm in North Devon when he was eight weeks old. He is very adventurous, and he once went missing for eight weeks and was found 40 miles from my house on Exmoor. He  is quite naughty, gets into scrapes with other cats and has been known to pop into people’s houses and have a good wander around. But, when he’s indoors in a chilled mood, he’s a happy kitty.

I miss Sherlock every day. He used to show his heart on his sleeve, gave everyone big kisses and preferred cosying-up by the fire or strolling across my keyboard to get attention.

Cats – especially black ones – are magical beings.

If you’d like to get in contact then you can email me on anthonyburt@hotmail.com.

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