About Gus Gordon

His illustrations are known for their loose and energetic line work, mixed media and humour; however, collage is the medium he is often recognised for. Much of his work contains old ephemeral paper items such as catalogue engravings, postcards, advertisements, receipts, stamps, theatre programs and maps. He is especially inspired by children’s drawings and their ability to tell story in an honest, uncomplicated fashion and feels that we as adults, are often too focussed on narrative structure and beautiful imagery, while the most crucial element, story, is left behind. David Hockney’s, quote, ‘Perspective strangles art,’ encapsulates this well.

Gus’ writing is always anthropomorphic – where animals take the place of humans in the narrative. He attributes this to an early love of Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in The Willows and Richard Scarry’s ‘Busy’ stories. He considers animals to be the perfect voices for his characters. Animals are engaging to children, and they allow Gus the freedom to tackle sensitive or difficult topics, giving children the respect they deserve.

Gus’ stories are typically character orientated, relying heavily on the character’s personality and their reaction to an environment or situation to direct the story. He never deliberately sets out to write for a particular age group. Rather, he writes for anyone who loves a good story – small and big people. He feels we, as parents and educators, abandon picture books far too early in a hasty effort to move children on to chapter books, thereby missing valuable opportunities to study the shortened story form and visual literacy, specifically the often-complex relationship between the text and the illustrations.

Picture books have always been a passion for Gus. He is drawn to picture books that are multi-layered and have soul, an emotional depth. He is also attracted to books that are funny, nonsensical, offbeat, especially if there’s a sincerity at the heart of the story. He believes humorous picture books can be deceptively clever and, most often, never get the credit they deserve.

Gus’ books, which include Wendy, Herman and Rosie (a 2013 CBCA ‘Honour Award’ for best picture book), Somewhere Else (2017 Speech Pathology book of the year), The Last Peach and Finding François, have sold in over 20 countries worldwide and have received wide international recognition. He has been shortlisted for the German Youth Literature Award, the Sakura Medal in Japan, the Kirico book awards in Spain, the Les Incorruptibles prize in France, the Premio Anderson Children’s Book awards in Italy and has twice been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature. In 2023 he was a judge for the NSW Premier’s Literature Awards (Patricia Wrightson Prize).

Gus’ influences are varied and diverse. They include the artists Arthur Rackham, Norman Lindsay, Emile Mercier, Jean-Jacques Sempé, Ronald Searle, Tomi Ungerer, William Steig, Richard Scarry, George Booth, Eric Carle, Leigh Hobbs, Quentin Blake and Serge Bloch.

Over the past 30 years, Gus has visited well over a thousand schools and festivals around Australia and internationally, speaking to children about illustration, writing, character design and visual literacy. He also enjoys talking specifically about the process of writing and illustrating picture books, dispelling the illusions about their creation, believing that it is important for children to understand what happens behind the scenes so they can better appreciate how words and pictures work together to tell story.

Gus’s first graphic novel, Into the Bewilderness is due for a simultaneous release in Australia (Hardie Grant) and the US (HarperAlley) in 2025. It’s an existential story about a bear called Luis and a mole called Pablo who live deep in the wilderness, far from culture and civility.

Gus is represented by Charlie Olsen of InkWell Management in New York and is an ambassador for Room to Read and Storybox Library. Gus also loves cheese, and things that go with cheese.