Martin Chatterton

BIO

An engaging and comedic speaker, Martin Ed Chatterton has been writing, illustrating and performing successfully around the world for the last thirty years appearing extensively at schools, festivals, conferences, TV and radio in the UK, Australia, India, China and the USA. His books for children and adults have been published in more than a dozen languages, and have won or been shortlisted in multiple awards in the UK, US and Australia including being shortlisted for the 2018 Lollies Award in the UK (formerly the Roald Dahl Prize) and for an ARIA (with Pat Davern) in 2016. He has illustrated books by some of the leading names in children’s literature and has an ongoing cowriting relationship with global publishing phenomenon, James Patterson. As ‘Ed Chatterton’, he writes adult crime fiction, screenplays for TV and film and in 2017 completed his PhD on slavery. The picture book, Winter Of The White Bear, which emerged from his doctorate was published in October 2019.

SHOWS

Presentations

  • Primary
  • Secondary

Martin’s performances feature large-scale interactive ‘live’ drawing, ‘mind-reading’ and plenty of audience participation. Wide-ranging and funny, the sessions include sharply targeted insights into different kinds of writing, the intricacies of the publishing industry, the telling of tall tales, story ‘beginnings’, and personalised dissections of what goes into a book, all of which draw and expand on Martin’s thirty year writing and illustrating journey. Martin is skilled at delivering key educational motivation contained within an entertaining external package and is particularly adept at engaging reluctant readers. Martin has appeared in front of audiences of over a thousand but is equally at home in more intimate settings.

Martin’s sessions run across all age grades and are tailored accordingly. As a globally successful and experienced children’s writer and illustrator his ‘core’ sessions are ideal for grades 3-7. Higher grades benefit from his broader writing skills, as a crime fiction writer, screenwriter and via his work as an academic. At the upper end of the school in grades 10, 11 and 12, Martin shifts the focus to thought-provoking subjects emerging from his PhD: most notably slavery, history, art as witness, themes of memory, and a more indepth examination of the differing approaches to writing. You can get an idea of what to expect by visiting Martin’s website (worldofchatterton.com) and watching the short video, The Banana Chronicles on the Performing page.

NEW ZEALAND ONLY

  • Primary
  • Secondary

VIDEOS