Episode 28: Jamie Smart

Erika is an extremely talented artist and author with a vibrant personality and oozes charm and joy!We discuss her experiences in the children's book industry, her process, materials and ideas.And of course there are the usual book recommendations in Studiomate Steve Suggests and a couple of gripes in Steve's Peeves!

Richard (APaintedMouse) is brilliant and so calming to talk to with a wealth of witty bants and informative and insightful chat.He is the creator of very beautiful, thoughtful picture books and now board books, including Perdu, The Snow Lion and One Amazing Story.We talk all about his new counting book, his experiences with publishers and his beautiful art process.And Yorkies.

Catherine is hilarious, charming and a delight to talk to. We discuss her collabs with Julia Donaldson and Michael Morpurgo, her dog pawtrait commissions, baby clothing range and have lots of giggles along the way!

Harriet oozes sparkles and magic as she talks about her career from foundation course to multi-million selling author/illustrator success! We talk doll's houses, kindles, recommend our current favourite books, share a peeve or two and generally have great fun!

The brilliantly talented Sheena chats all things Pablo and Splash with insights into her work ethic and graphic novel-creating process. She reveals that she is a cricketer and also has a dog called Jeremy!We have some wonderful book recommendations and a couple of interesting peeves to discuss too!

Powerhouse pairing Lu & Kate talk about their new book 'The Busiest Beaver' so of course, expect a lot of giggles and fun!They suggest two cracking books and are generally awesome.

Effervescent author Sarah chats about all her latest books including 'Brenda's Revenge' and recommends two wonderful books.This episode also features the first 'Steve's Peeves' segment where we have a minor gripe about something/anything!

Mikey has created and directed myriad, beautiful animation projects and has now entered the world of children's picture books with his gorgeous debut 'The Cafe At The Edge Of The Woods' which we discuss, along with his work with Aardman, his views on AI and our current favourite books.

Paul is the PR and Brand Director at Andersen Press and chats to me about the role of a publicist within the children's book industry. We delve into brilliant books and also Vanderpump Rules, Love Is Blind and Below Deck - we love a bit of telly! Fun and informative, Paul is an excellent guest!

Comic book creator extraordinaire Jamie, best-known for Bunny V's Monkey and numerous The Phoenix characters, chats about his life/work balance and his earlier career working on The Dandy and a naturist publication amongst others! Also his penchant for gardening and his choice of books for the Studiomate Steve Suggests segment!