Bruce jumped into the unknown world of picture books after a career in advertising as an illustrator and art director working in London then Sydney. Since 1992 Bruce has written and/or illustrated over 80 children’s picture books. Though based in Australia his work is published internationally.

His main inspiration has been his family, who feature in several of his earlier picture books, his wife Rosie Smith being co-author on many of his projects. He uses a variety of illustration mediums including gouache, pen and ink, pencil, oils, watercolour and more recently CGI software.

His aim is to entertain and surprise the reader with illustration styles that vary considerably depending on the text and the age group of his audience.

Bruce is continually looking for new innovative ways to make images to tell his visual narratives.

Ben Lawson grew up in Brisbane, one of five boys. He studied acting at NIDA and worked in theatre throughout Sydney and Melbourne. He has been based in Los Angeles since 2008 where he has acted extensively in television shows, such as Firefly Lane, Modern Family, The Good Place, Billions, Thirteen Reasons Why and Designated Survivor, and films, including Bombshell and No Strings Attached.

Ben misses being in the ocean at Noosa, eating chicken burgers in North Bondi and watching live music on balmy St Kilda nights, as well as a million other things he used to take for granted. To My Country is his first book.