Photo of Martin Brown

Martin Brown

Martin Brown was born in Melbourne, Australia, and has lived in England for over 30 years. He lives in Dorset with family. Arriving in London in 1983, Martin got a job as a bicycle courier – without any knowledge of the capital’s geography. It was short-lived. This was followed by a role in Harrod’s toy department: achievements included caricaturing customers and successfully wrapping a full-sized rocking horse. While working at London Graphic Centre, Martin decided to pursue his dream to become a cartoonist. Having access to the contact details of every publisher helped. One of the first publishers he contacted was Scholastic who commissioned him for the Coping with… books before uniting him with Terry Deary to create the world’s bestselling children’s history series, Horrible Histories. Martin’s recent books beyond Horrible Histories include his Lesser Spotted Animal series and Nell and the Cave Bear (both also written and illustrated by him). A proponent of ‘drawing is for everyone’, Martin inspires children (and their families) across Britain at festival appearances and shows.