Tania McCartney

Tania McCartney is an Australian author, illustrator and designer, specialising in picture books, non-fiction and junior fiction. A magazine and book editor, independent publisher, features writer and columnist, she has over 35 years' experience in publishing and 15 years in book layout, design and typography. She currently has around 60 books in print or in production, published in around 20 countries.

In 2013, Tania began reconnecting with illustration. Her first self-illustrated book, Australia Illustrated, was released in 2016 (EK Books), and she has since created two large-scale illustrated maps, posters, puzzles, greeting cards and over 15 picture books. Clients include HarperCollins, Hardie Grant Books, Penguin Random House, the National Library of Australia, Windy Hollow, EK Books, Allen & Unwin, the SCBWI and Flow magazine.

Recent works include Fauna: Australia's Most Curious Creatures (NLA Publishing), Australia's Wild Weird Wonderful Weather (NLA Publishing), Mamie (HarperCollins), Evie and Pog series (HarperCollins), Wonderful Shoes (Windy Hollow), AlphaKid (Windy Hollow) and Plume: World Explorer (book one of the Plume series, Hardie Grant Explore 2021).

The founder of the esteemed Kids’ Book Review and the Happy Book podcast, Tania is an experienced speaker and presenter, running workshops for schools and organisations such as the ACT Writers Centre, the Australian Society of Authors, the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Her festival experience includes the CBCA National Conference, the Newcastle Writers Festival, SCBWI Conferences and the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore.

Tania's books have won awards and shortlistings, including New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, World Illustration Awards, Museums Australasia Multimedia & Publication and Design Awards, Educational Publishing Awards Australia, Speech Pathology Awards, ilderness Society's Environmental Award, Australian Book Design Awards, several CBCA Notable books, SCBWI Crystal Kite Award (for Australia/New Zealand), and in 2017, she was awarded the CBCA Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature.

Tania has lived in France, England and China, and currently lives in Canberra with her family, a forest of artwork and a mountain of books.

www.taniamccartney.com