Episode 17: Dan Anthony

Dan Anthony is a creative on many levels: he writes adored children's books, he lectures in Creative Writing at Cardiff Metropolitan university, his research interest examines the relationship between creativity and intellectual property, and being a scriptwriter on CBBC’s Tracy Beaker series is only one of his many exploits in the world of TV and radio. He is an ambassador for the power of writing and its transformative nature. 

Dan’s comic short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, Radio Wales and by the New Welsh Review, with hits including Pub Globo and The Fishford Observer, to name just a couple. He has written and directed six situation comedy series for radio and written and presented several documentary series.

His new book, Submarine Spies and the Unspeakable Thing​ (age range 9-12), tells a tale of how dogs, cats, parrots, chinchillas and submarine spies transform a young Caitlin’s life into a heart-warming adventure in a small Welsh town. His children’s trilogy, The Rugby Zombies (age range 9-11), features an array of zombified shenanigans, and was nominated for a Tir na n-Og award by the Welsh Books Council. His other titles include The Bus Stop at the End of the World (age range 9-11), the Steve’s Dreams series (age range 7-9), and The Last Big One (age range 13+). Dan’s passion for inspiring young readers and writers is clear from his workshops, which he presents in junior and secondary schools throughout the UK. 

Lucy Smith, one of our new Babble interviewers, is a flash fiction, prose poetry and short story writer and podcaster (namely Talking Ink and The Talkies), who asks Dan interesting, exploratory questions which unearth wonderful insights into the world of writing, and a facilitate a happy, fun interview on a diverse range of topics, from his research on copyright to his approach on creative process.