Stephen.Michael King author page

Stephen Michael King biography

Stephen Michael King is an Australian children’s author and illustrator whose work includes more than 100 published books. His illustrations have appeared in titles by Glenda Millard, Margaret Wild, Nick Bland, Peter Carey and Tim Winton. Before establishing his career in children’s publishing, he worked for Walt Disney and designed puppets for television. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

King’s first picture book, The Man Who Loved Boxes, was published by Scholastic in 1995. It tells the story of a father who finds it difficult to express his affection for his son through words but demonstrates his love by building things from cardboard boxes. The book won the Family Award for Children’s Books in 1996 and was shortlisted for the Crichton Award for Children’s Book Illustration.

His other self-authored picture books include Henry and Amy (1998), Mutt Dog! (2004), Leaf (2008), Rainbow Bear (2018) and Three (2019). Mutt Dog! received a Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Honour award in 2005, while Leaf was recognised as a CBCA Honour Book in 2009. Three, a story about a three-legged dog, received a CBCA Honour award in 2020.

King has collaborated extensively with Glenda Millard, illustrating several books in her Kingdom of Silk series. Their book Perry Angel’s Suitcase won the 2009 CBCA Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers. He also illustrated Millard’s The Duck and the Darklings, which won the children’s books category of the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards in 2016. Their picture book Pea Pod Lullaby, published by Allen & Unwin in 2017, won the 2018 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction.

In April 2025, Scholastic Press published King’s picture book One Word and a Bird, which follows a young traveller searching for words to describe experiences and encounters along a journey. He also illustrated Josh Pyke’s Some Days You’ll Have Days Like These, published by Scholastic Press in September 2025.