He has also been an invited speaker at many literary festivals in the UK and internationally, including;Hay Festival,Bath Festival,Edinburgh International Book festival in the UK.And;Cuirt International Book Festival, Galway, Ireland;Towers and Tales, Waterford, Ireland;International Literarture Festival, Dublin;Guadalajara FIL, Mexico (British Council); Hay Festival Kerala, India (British Council); Flupp International literature festival, Rio, Brazil (British Council);VallettaFestival of Children's Literature, Malta (British Council) This book is perfect to read with children who have started drawing but sometimes feel disheartened when their drawing doesn’t turn out exactly as they see it in their heads, as so often happens. It’s easy to start thinking you’re not good at drawing and a lot of children go through this and tragically stop seeing themselves as artists, losing the confidence to express that they had at first. This is a stunningly beautiful book with a message for young and old - and it makes readers look anew and refreshed at the world. Ed Vere is one of the most talented children’s books creators of our time and takes the care to make every word and every mark mean something, in or out of the lines.

Vere is the 2020 Illustrator in Residence for Booktrust. While there he will champion drawing in primary education and attempt to start a national conversation about the benefits of drawing for mental health. Puffin started out as a non-fiction publisher, with its first title appearing in 1940. As the most iconic and well-known children’s book brand in the UK today, we are always on the lookout for innovative ways to tell the world’s favourite stories and for brilliant new debut talent and brands that connect with today’s young readers, from newborn up to twelve years old.Kirkus starred review-'Colorful, boldly imaginative, dynamic, quirky, and wonderfully child-appealing illustrations. . . . This book proclaims what children already know: Creativity and making art spark joy.' I struggled enormously with literacy projects at school, English comprehension was an unending nightmare. I just didn’t get it. Drawing was another matter. Some children are academic thinkers – others, just as bright, think in other ways; spatially or visually. We must learn how to engage them, so they don’t come to believe, as I did, that they aren’t worth much. Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week(Ireland)-'Perfect for creative minds, Ed Vere’s beautiful children’s book The Artistfollows a young dinosaur on a mission to share her art with others...This book features joyful illustrations and a powerful message about what it means to be an artist.' - Lynn Enright

Ed worked with CLPE toco-createthe award winning Power of Picturesprogrammewhich encourages visual literacy in primary schooleducation andhas received major funding from the Arts Council, EEF & RSA.You can read an article in The Guardian relating to this work here . We understand complex expressions and emotions through drawings from a very early age, in ways we can’t yet do with the written word or spoken language. Ed has worked extensively in schools across the UK and abroad running reading and drawing workshops... including teachingat International Schools in Kathmandu, Nanjing &SauPaolo. As a writer who also draws, I’m interested in how we connect with another person through words and pictures. How we engage, how we animate, how we get an idea to live in another mind. When I read to children, I’m endlessly amazed by the power of a picture book. That a character is grippingly alive for those kids. An inky drawing of an enormous, lonely gorilla playing a piano, transforms in the mind into a living breathing being, deserving of love. It blows my mind. Every time. For that to happen the Power of Pictures author/illustrators must re-instill a sense of drawing confidence in the teachers we’re teaching. Many haven’t drawn since they were at primary school. We demonstrate a few simple confidence-building drawing exercises which show how a character can be easily created. From there a drawn character can interact with another. An idea for a story often sparks soon after.

Connection & engagement

Publishers Weekly- 'Even if readers don't need encouragement to unleash their own talents, they should be intrigued by this protagonist's arc toward artistic assurance.' Ed has performed on stage, live drawing with (amongst others) The Britten Sinfoniaand The Neil Cowley Triofor the 'Mr Big plays Jazz' concerts. Selected venues have been; The Barbican Centre (London), Wigmore Hall (London), The Hexagon (Reading), Saffron Hall (Saffron Waldon), Norwich Cathedral and Cuirt International Literary Festival in Galway, Ireland. Realizing that making mistakes is part of the process could be a game-changer for the many kids who can't conquer their discouragement when their art falls short of their expectations Booklist A young dinosaur artist (looking a bit like a T-rex but a cute one) sees the dinosaur world as full of joy and beauty, something that some dinosaurs are too busy to notice. She sees all that, draws and paints it and makes it into her art. Later she decides to go live in the city with lots of empty walls to paint so more people can see her art and really look. But she has a crisis of confidence when she starts to make mistakes and colour outside the lines - she almost gives up on art until she finds out it’s the heart in art that really matters.

By the time a child arrives at primary school they’re able to use this visual vocabulary creatively when they‘read’pictures and when they draw, yet we don’t harness either. Worse still, most children have given up drawing by the age of 9 or 10 (believing there’s a right and wrong way – there isn’t). In doing so, they lose a vital form of self-expression which they don’t have another outlet for. Careless of us in these times where we’re supposedly more aware than ever of emotional wellbeing. Ed also works on many projects related to his books . . . from speaking at festivals fromRio to Mexico toKerala, tocurating festival experiences in the UK, tolive drawing onstage at The Barbican Centrealongside the Britten Sinfonia, and atThe Wigmore hall withthe Neil Cowley Trio. Puffin is an imprint of Penguin Random House, the world’s number-one publisher representing a vibrant community of publishing houses marked by unparalleled success. Through our world of stories, Puffin aims to open up the world to every child. Our mission is to inspire children to feel they can be and do anything, and to create readers for life. From the moment a child comes into the world they are searching for visual clues. Trying to understand if you are friend or foe, through facial expression and body language. Pictures speak this language fluently. Pictures intimate emotions, feelings and nuances that words cannot because of this sophisticated visual vocabulary (which we are constantly building). Pictures are open to interpretation – there’s nothing concrete to get right or wrong - which means they’re open to discussion.Vere staged 'Mr Big plays Jazz' at Wigmore Hall, London & Birmingham Symphony & Town Halls with the Neil Cowley Trio. Mae deinosor ifanc sy'n artist yn gweld y byd fel lle llawn llawenydd a harddwch – rhywbeth y mae rhai deinosoriaid yn rhy brysur i sylwi arno. Mae hi'n tynnu llun ac yn paentio'r llawenydd a'r harddwch hwnnw ac yn creu ei chelf ohono. This witty, resonant picture book is a manual for anyone's life, young or old." Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week A piece written for 'Teach Primary' magazine about my 'Power of Pictures'visual literacy work with CLPE) Vere worked with CLPE to co-create the Power of Pictures, a 12-week scheme in which author/illustrators teach teachers about writing techniques.