Author: James Foley

James Foley makes children’s books for children who read books. If you’re a child and you’re eating his books, you’re doing it wrong. His books include the Secret Agent Mole graphic novel series, the S.Tinker Inc graphic novel series, and the multi-award winning Stellarphant. James lives in Perth with his wife, 2 kids, and a labrador. He is a massive Marvel movie nerd and comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts. Follow him on socials ( @jamesfoleybooks ) or at www.jamesfoley.com.au .

More events for October!

Oct 26: Family Sunday at the State Library of NSW

I’ll be in Sydney at the end of October with my author-illustrator bud Sean Avery, and we’re taking over the State Library of NSW!

SESSION 1: SPONTANEOUS STORYTIME

Join James and Sean for a laugh-out-loud session where the kids are in charge. Bring your weirdest and wackiest ideas for stories, because they’ll be mashing them up into the funniest Franken-tale you’ve ever heard — which James and Sean will illustrate, live!

Suitable for ages six and up, but all welcome.

DATE: Sun 26 October
TIME: 10:30-11:30am
WHERE: JB Fairfax Learning Centre, State Library of New South Wales
AGES: 6yo+ (for families)
TICKETS: $10/child (adults free)
BOOKINGS: essential via eventbrite

SESSION 2: CHARACTER MAQUETTE WORKSHOP

Are you ready to learn secrets of character design from two of Australia’s best children’s illustrators? Join James and Sean for a fun workshop where you get to design your own book character, then build them in 3D using colourful clay.

Suitable for ages 8–12.

DATE: Sun 26 October
TIME: 12noon-1pm
WHERE: JB Fairfax Learning Centre, State Library of New South Wales
AGES: 8-12yo
TICKETS: $10/child (adults free)
BOOKINGS: essential via eventbrite

Events for October

Oct 1 & 3: Spontaneous Stories @ Awesome Festival

Join me for a laugh-out-loud session where the kids are in charge. Bring your weirdest and wackiest ideas for stories, because we’ll be mashing them up into the funniest Franken-tale you’ve ever heard – which I will illustrate, live.

DATE: Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 October
TIME: 11:15am each day
WHERE: Education Room, State Library of WA, Francis St, Perth
AGES: 6-12yo
BOOKINGS: essential via trybooking

Oct 4: Comic illustration workshop (for kids) **SOLD OUT**

Join this workshop where I’ll show you how to create characters, use speech bubbles, sound effects, panels and backgrounds to create your own comic stories.

DATE: Saturday 4 October
TIME: 1-3pm
WHERE: Conference Room, Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre, 3 Rocca Way, Wanneroo
AGES: 7-14yo
BOOKINGS: essential via eventbrite – **sold out, but there is a waitlist**

Oct 11: illustration workshop (for adults)

Want to learn how to illustrate picture books? Join me in this session to find out how. Suitable for ages 16+.

Topics include: 

  • Research
  • Planning (storyboards and dummy books)
  • Media testing and final artwork
  • Characters
  • Point of view, image boundary, colour, medium, line quality, font, composition
  • Words vs pictures
  • Preparing a portfolio and submitting to publishers.

DATE: Saturday 11 October
TIME: 12:30-4:30
WHERE: Conference Room, Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre, 3 Rocca Way, Wanneroo
AGES: 16yo+
BOOKINGS: essential via eventbrite

Oct 24: Mantle Conference for Teacher Librarians, Newcastle

I’m presenting at this year’s Mantle Conference in Newcastle, along with superstars Deborah Abela, Sean E Avery, Charlotte Barkla, Megan Daley, Kate Foster, Lara Cain Gray and Kirli Saunders. What a line up!

For more details, check out the Mantle conference website.

Continue reading “Events for October”

Chickensaurus – out now in colour!

Ever wondered if Jurassic Park had chickens?

Originally published in 2020, this new edition of Chickensaurus is in glorious full colour.

Here’s the official blurb:

Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of 12, is back with a new adventure in invention. When Sally’s nemesis hatches a fowl and poultry plot – turning chickens into dinosaurs – there’s no room for the lily-livered. The chickensaurs are let loose, and Sally and co will need all their pluck to return the world to its rightful pecking order.

MORE INFO
READ A FREE SAMPLE

Buy Chickensaurus (colour edition)

🌏 *SIGNED COPIES* – PAPER BIRD
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 LOCAL INDIE BOOKSHOPS
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Booktopia
🌏 FREMANTLE PRESS
🇦🇺 QBD
🌏 DYMOCKS

Happy Barry and Toffle Towers both on the REAL awards shortlist

Wonderful news this morning: Happy Barry Capybara and Toffle Towers book 1 are both on the REAL shortlist! ⁠
⁠
The REAL (Reading and Enjoying Australian Literature) shortlist is used by three children’s choice book award programs around Australia: the KOALA awards in NSW, the YABBAs in Victoria and the KROCs in the Northern Territory. ⁠
⁠
Congrats to everyone involved in the shortlisted books! And a huge thanks to the library staff around Australia who volunteer their help with awards like these. ⁠
⁠
Get reading, kids – which are your favourites? ⁠

Download the 2025 REAL Awards poster

REAL_Awards_Poster_V2 (1)Download

Bigfoot vs Yeti launched over east

A couple of weeks ago, I took a fantastic trip over east to help launch my new picture book, Bigfoot vs Yeti!

I got to visit wonderful bookshops, meet readers, and catch up with friends. When I got home my heart was full and the rest of me was completely exhausted!

Launches

The Sydney launch was at Gleebooks in Glebe, organised by the amazing Rachel. Can we get a life model decoy of Rachel for every state? She’s one of those invaluable champions of children’s literature who keeps the industry ticking along. There was also a real life bigfoot who looked a little like celebrated Sydney-based children’s book creator Mick Elliott.

Continue reading “Bigfoot vs Yeti launched over east”

Dungzilla – out now in colour!

Dungzilla is back and browner than ever!

Originally published in 2017, this new full colour edition comes with an extra bonus story.

Here’s the official blurb:

Sally Tinker – the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve – has built a growth ray. But when she tries resizing a slice of pizza, she accidentally enlarges a dung beetle to scary proportions. As the hungry beetle rolls itself a dung ball large enough to crush an entire town, Sally races to shrink down the monster before it’s too late!

And in the bonus story One Small Step for Mammoth, Sally and her team are off to Mars! Rav is taking scientific experiments; Charli is taking a vegetable garden. And baby Joe is taking … a woolly mammoth? Where on Earth did he get a woolly mammoth, and how is it going to fit in the overhead compartment?

MORE INFO
READ A FREE SAMPLE

Buy Dungzilla (colour edition)

🌏 **SIGNED COPIES** at PAPER BIRD
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 LOCAL INDIE BOOKSHOPS
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 BOOKTOPIA
🌏 FREMANTLE PRESS
🇦🇺 QBD
🌏 DYMOCKS

Double book launches in Sydney and Melbourne

My new book Bigfoot vs Yeti: A Love Story has released to rave reviews … and the brand-new colour edition of Dungzilla will be out in April!

If you’re in Sydney or Melbourne, please come along to a book launch and help me celebrate these two new releases.

March 29 – Sydney, NSW

I’ll be in Sydney at the end of March to celebrate the release of Bigfoot vs Yeti and the new colour edition of Dungzilla! Join me at Gleebooks in Glebe for a ridiculously fun double book launch.

DATE: Saturday March 29
TIME: 10:30am
WHERE: Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW
REGISTRATION: rachel@gleebooks.com.au

April 4 – Melbourne, VIC

Melbourne friends, please come along to help me launch my new picture book Bigfoot vs Yeti, plus the colour edition of Dungzilla!

DATE: Friday April 4th
TIME: 6-7pm AEDT
WHERE: Readings Kids, 315 Lygon St, Carlton VIC
RSVP: essential, via trybooking

Order ‘Bigfoot vs Yeti’ now:

🌏 *Signed copies* – Paper bird
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Local Indie bookshops
🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Booktopia
🌏 FREMANTLE PRESS
🇦🇺 QBD
🌏 Dymocks
🇹🇼 Books.Com.Tw

Bigfoot vs Yeti = launched in WA 🥳

Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday to celebrate the launch of my new picture book!

Bigfoot Vs Yeti: A Love Story had a fun-filled send-off featuring a cryptid Olympics, craft activities, Karen Irwin and a real life Bigfoot! Several snowballs were slung and many morsels were munched.

Huge thanks to everyone who helped out: Fremantle Press for organising, The Literature Centre for hosting, New Edition for book sales, Karen Blair for ably launching, Deb Fitzpatrick and Sam Hughes refereeing, and Renae Hayward for the hardest job of all: kid (+ James) wrangling 😘

Best on ground goes to Dave Foley for donning a gorilla suit on a very humid day 👏👏👏

Check out some video from the WA launch in the insta post below.

Continue reading “Bigfoot vs Yeti = launched in WA 🥳”

Behind the scenes on Bigfoot vs Yeti

If you’d like a little more info on how my latest picture book was put together, here’s some recent media clippings:

INTERVIEW
Bigfoot vs Yeti
Alphabet Soup
with Rebecca Newman

ARTICLE
From Linocut to iPad
on the Fremantle Press website

Continue reading “Behind the scenes on Bigfoot vs Yeti”