CHILDREN’S AUTHOR

Chris’ stories for children reveal a love of wordplay, rhyme, and a penchant for whimsical characters living in curious places.

At an early age, Chris enjoyed the naive heroes of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, the menageries of Dr. Seuss and Mercer Mayer, and the busy towns of Richard Scarry. 

Chris’ first internationally published children’s book was co-written with friend and award-winning illustrator, Angela Keoghan in March 2017, and published by the extraordinary TATE museums in the UK.

Inspector Brunswick: The Case of the Missing Eyebrow showcases the talents of the world's greatest cat detective, and his loyal assistant, Nelson.

In April 2018 the book won a Storylines™ Notable Picture Book Award at the Margaret Mahy Awards Day.

As of 2019 it is available in English, Greek, and Korean.

POET& PLAYWRIGHT

Since he was small, Chris has enjoyed the poetry of Edward Lear, Spike Milligan, Dr. Seuss, and Roald Dahl.

Of his poems, Chris says, ‘I love to mix and meddle with words. I really enjoy the challenge of trying to balance rhythm, meaning, and audience enjoyment in every line.’

Since 2014 Chris has been ‘slowly-but-surely’ working on a collaborative series of whimsical poems called Secretive Creatures with longtime collaborator and illustrator, Angela Keoghan.

‘When completed, this will be a collection of poems for people who enjoy beautiful illustration and being transported to curious places. We’re rediscovering all the mythical creatures that time has forgotten and retelling their stories.’

When asked about the creative process, Chris says, ‘Sometimes the words come first and inspire Angela’s illustrations. Other times, I might spot a curious character pencilled in the margin of one of Angela’s sketchbooks and that will inspire the words. That happened for The Nod Beagle; I saw her sketch and poem honestly just popped into my head!’

Chris has also written The Competition, a play for the NZ Junior Journal featuring illustrations by Beck Wheeler, published Nov 2019.