One of Swindon author and illustrator Steve Antony’s books, The Queen’s Hat, is in the running for a Waterstone’s Children’s Book Award. His work has won rave reviews in newspapers including the New York Times. Steve is 38 and lives in Old Town.

LAST month Barnes and Noble, the giant American book shop chain, made a story called Please Mr Panda its book of the month.

On Saturday, January 10 it was read aloud in 645 branches across all 50 states.

The author himself was flown over by his publisher to read at a New York City branch and also at schools.

A little over four years earlier he’d been working nights at a water company call centre in Swindon, doodling characters in spare moments between inquiries from customers.

Back home in Old Town, Steve Antony says the American experience exceeded all of his expectations, but refuses to be over- whelmed by it.

“I just go with the flow and do what I need to do. I just want to create great picture books, fun picture books and sometimes thought-provoking picture books.”

Please Mr Panda, which extols the virtues of sharing, is published by Hodder, as is The Queen’s Hat, a quirky tour of Britain.

Oxford University Press publishes another book, Betty Goes Bananas, which is about a frustrated toddler gorilla’s attempts to peel a snack.

All have won rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, and Steve has a clutch of award nominations.

“I think the most important thing a picture book needs is intention,” he said.

“I think that when you’re setting out to create a picture book you need to be intent on what it is you want to say. I think there has to be a purpose to it. Once you’ve got that, then you can start thinking about the details – the story arc, the characters.

“I also think humour is important. Using it is a good way to tackle all sorts of subjects.”

Last but not least, he likes to make his work enjoyable for parents and guardians who will have to read it over and over.

Steve spent his early childhood in Grange Park. His mother is an artist and his father a blacksmith, and Steve has three brothers.

From the age of eight to 16, he lived in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and still has a trace of an American accent.

“It was eye-opening. I’m grateful for having had the experience of living there. Although I did miss home – England – I do have some fantastic memories of living in Alamogordo.

“The landscape was beautiful. I went to school there from the age of eight to sixteen and made some great friends who I still keep in touch with.

“I had some wonderful teachers over there. To this day I still remember two or three teachers who had quite an influence on my art work and on my outlook for the future.”

As was the fashion in America at the time, Steve spent many happy hours with friends at a local mall, especially in the video game arcade.

Throughout his childhood, though, art was a constant factor in his life.

“Probably one of my earliest memories is when I was drawing. I took to it quite naturally and I think it’s part of who I am. It’s in the core of my personality, being creative and having the desire to draw – to tell stories with my pictures.

“It was in some ways possibly an escape because I was really shy as a kid – I’m still a little bit shy now.

“I used to spend lots of time in my room drawing and amassing piles of illustrations. I think I used to lose myself in my own universe of drawings.”

By about 11 he was writing stories to go with the pictures.

Returning to Britain at 16, Steve was too young to have graduated from high school and too old to take GCSEs.

His art work and American grades were enough to win him a place at Cirencester College to study for a BTEC in Art and Design. He also worked in a supermarket.

He was still drawing and submitting work to various publishers, and began gathering rejection slips in the time-honoured fashion of writers and artists.

He later studied Advanced Art and Design at Swindon College, graduating in 1999 with an HND in Illustration.

Like many people hoping to enter a branch of the arts, he then had to support himself while waiting for a break.

He found work at a water company call centre, and would remain there until he was made redundant in 2010.

“I was then faced with a decision: what do I do next? I knew I wanted to follow my ambition to become an illustrator, but I didn’t quite know what to do. I had enough money to allow me to look around for opportunities but I knew it was only for a short time period. It was around that time that I found out about a course in Cambridge, a Masters in Children’s Book Illustration.

“Sometimes you have to take a risk, and I did that. I knew it was going to be ‘a’ or ‘b’. Either I was going to graduate and get a book deal and it was all going to work out or it was going to be that I wasn’t going to get a book deal. I would end up working in a job I didn’t think was particularly the right one for me, for any number of years.

“But I guess what I’ve always had is this belief and this real sense of determination, and I think that’s what it all boils down to.”

Steve opted to study part-time while working in various roles including one in guidance at Swindon College.

His Cambridge tutor, Pam Smy, arranged a meeting with an agent, Elizabeth Roy, and Steve signed his first book deal in 2013.

He is an overnight sensation after more than 30 years of determined toil.

His advice to other aspiring artists?

“Never give up. That was my mantra. You’ve got to keep on going and just have faith that you will find a way.

“Be prepared, because you never know when an opportunity will arrive.”