IN the space of a few years Swindon children’s author and illustrator Steve Antony went from working in a call centre to being feted on both sides of the Atlantic and appearing in the New York Times best seller list.

In May he added to a growing list of accolades when X-Files star Gillian Anderson presented him with the Evening Standard Oscar’s First Book Prize for his picture book, The Queen’s Hat.

“It was completely surreal and I was shocked to win,” he said.

“I’m a hard-core X-Files fan so it was great to meet Gillian.”