Thomas Henry Taylor (born 22 May 1973)[1] is an English children's writer and illustrator. He painted the cover art for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.[2]
Thomas Taylor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Thomas Henry Taylor 22 May 1973 England[1] |
| Pen name | Thomas Taylor |
| Occupation | Illustrator, author |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Children's books (Illustrator) |
| Notable works | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (original illustration), Malamander |
Biography
editTaylor attended Norwich School of Art and Design in 1991. Then he studied illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, graduating in 1995.[3]
In 1997, Taylor painted his first professional commission, a cover illustration for a children's book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by then unknown author J. K. Rowling, for which he was paid a flat fee of two or three hundred pounds.[2] In 2001, Taylor's original pencil and watercolour drawing sold for £85,750;[2] in June 2024, it sold for £1.52 million at auction at Sotheby's in New York.[4] Taylor was replaced by the more experienced illustrator Cliff Wright for the next book in the Harry Potter series.[2]
He has written and illustrated several picture books, starting with George and Sophie's Museum Adventure in 1999, and has two children's novels, Haunters and Dan of the Dead.[5] The first one was published in May, 2012 by The Chicken House and the last one was published on 1 June 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing. Dan of the Dead sequel named Dan and the Caverns of Bone was issued in June, 2013. The book The Pets You Get with his illustrations won the Stockport Schools' Book Award in 2013 (early years category) and also the Oldham Brilliant Books Award.[6]
Picture books
edit- George and Sophie's Museum Adventure (1999)
- The Chocolate Biscuit Tree (2001)
- The Loudest Roar (2002)
- The Biggest Splash (2005)
- The Noisiest Night (2007)
- Jack's Tractor (2009)
- Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake (2010)
- The Pets You Get (2012)
- Too Many Tickles (2013)
Fiction
edit- Haunters (2012)
- Dan and the Dead (2012)
- Dan and the Caverns of Bone (2013)
- Malamander (2019)
- Gargantis (2020)
- Shadowghast (2021)
- Festergrimm (2022)
- Mermedusa (2023)
References
edit- ^ a b The U.S. Library of Congress cites 2001 and 2002 communications with a publisher for Taylor's full name, birth date, and birthplace England. "Taylor, Thomas, 1973–". Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Thorpe, Vanessa (20 January 2002). "Harry Potter beats Austen in sale rooms". The Observer. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ "Thomas Taylor". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Sanderson, Daniel (26 June 2024). "First Harry Potter illustration sells for record £1.5m at auction". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Thomas Taylor at Fantastic Fiction
- ^ Picture Books Retrieved on 2 Feb 2018
External links
edit- Official website
- Taylor at United Agents
- Thomas Taylor at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Thomas Taylor at Library of Congress, with 6 library catalogue records