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. 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.' One brave little artist goes on one epic adventure to share her art, and in doing so learns that it doesn't matter if you colour outside the lines, that art is full of heart... and that maybe you are an artist too! How to Be a Lion, by Ed Vere (Penguin Random House, June 2018) Nominated for the 2019 Kate Greenaway Medal and the 2019 Carnegie Medal

Vere worked with CLPE to co-create the Power of Pictures, a 12-week scheme in which author/illustrators teach teachers about writing techniques.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. From the award-winning Ed Vere comes a joyful and inspirational celebration of beauty, mistakes and the artist in all of us 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 . 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 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 travelled to Kenya in early 2019 to explore, paint and write about Born Free’s work. Writing about and painting lions, their natural habitats and the local populations they live alongside. Discovering the work Born Free does to ensure that the world's remaining 20000 wild lions have a secure and sustainable future. Ed and Born Free will be publishing a book in 2022. There will also be an exhibition and fund-raising auction. 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. 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.

Mae'r llyfr yn berffaith i'w ddarllen gyda phlant sydd wedi dechrau tynnu lluniau ond sydd weithiau'n colli calon pan nad yw eu llun yn troi allan yn union fel maen nhw'n ei weld yn eu pennau, fel sy'n digwydd mor aml. Vere describes the book as 'a painted and written travelogue, a journey of discovery, it aims to engender a love of nature in a world increasingly disconnected from it. The book will discuss issues around freedom, conservation and what we can do to create a world in which wildlife thrives, rather than perishes.' The book aims to properly discuss the issues at hand and consequently is aimed at a wide-ranging audience from 8 year-old to adult.

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. As I mentioned at the beginning,it’s about howwe connect with another person. By using drawing and pictures, we engage, we animate - we get an idea to live in another mind. 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.

Select a format:

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.