Matt Shanks

Matt Shanks is an internationally-published and critically-acclaimed author/illustrator of over twenty-five picture books. His work has been selected for multiple awards including the CBCA Picture books of the year, Bologna Ragazzi Award and Aurealis, Australia's premier speculative fiction publication for children's fiction. His newest solo work, When the Mountain Wakes, is available now in UK/Europe, Japan and Australia.

Alongside his solo books, he has also worked with some of Australia's most-loved writers including Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes, comedian Peter Helliar, and former Australian Children's laureate Jackie French. Matt is a two-time fellow of the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust and an Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation ambassador. He works primary in watercolour & ink. He lives on Boon Wurrung land with his partner and cat.

Matt acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which he does his work and pays his respects to elders past and present. He acknowledges the sorrow of the stolen generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He also recognises the resilience, strength and pride of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and through his work, aims to help as much as possible to empower and help them thrive.

He’s currently working on books for children with the wonderful people at Scholastic Australia, HarperCollins Australia, Walker Books Australia, Hardie Grant, Affirm Press, Simon & Schuster, and Allen & Unwin.