David Melling

David studied Art in London and Photography in Blackpool, UK. In the early 1980s he started out as a freelance editorial and advertising illustrator but soon found himself working in London based animation studios: drawing backgrounds, assisting animators and rendering painted cells. He worked on TV films including Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs, Grandpa by John Burningham and Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.In the early 90s David turned his attention to children’s books. His first book Brilliant the Dinosaur by Richard Stilgoe was published in 1993 and was shortlisted for the Smarties Book Award. In 1999 he wrote and illustrated The Kiss That Missed which was shortlisted for theKate Greenaway Award. In 2004 his picture book The Tale of Jack Frost was made into a TV film, narrated by Hugh Laurie. To date he has illustrated around 150 books, of which he has written approximately 40. In 2011 he created Hugless Douglas, a endearing small bear in need of the perfect hug who represents what it’s like to be a small child learning about the world. A hugely popular character with global appeal, Douglas books have sold over 1.6 million copies to date, across 66 countries in 28 languages. Douglas has also been adapted for a theatre production and is currently optioned by Kindle Entertainment, an independent production company, for a possible TV series. Hello, Hugless Douglas was the bestselling World Book Day 2014 title, reaching number one in the UK chart. David and his Croatian wife and two children live near Oxford, UK. Website: www.davidmelling.co.uk Twitter: DavidMelling1 Instagram: david.melling1 Delegate | 2018, 2019