Dallas Clayton is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

best known for his children's works in the ''Awesome Book'' series.

Early career

Clayton began his writing career by self-publishing small run short story

zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very sma ...

which he distributed in art galleries, music venues, and on street corners throughout the U.S.

Work

After the birth of his son in 2003, Clayton wrote, illustrated, and published ''An Awesome Book!'', a 64-page children's picture book about "dreaming big". After being turned down by several major publishing houses Clayton opted to self-publish ''An Awesome Book!'' by posting the book for free online and using mostly non-traditional means of distribution, after which the book sold over 50,000 copies to date. Clayton was hired in 2009 as the editor-in-chief of ''We Love You So'', an art magazine founded by director

Spike Jonze Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze began his ca ...

, designed to tie into with ''

Where the Wild Things Are ''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...

'', Jonze's adaptation of the children's book of the same title. Clayton released his next book, ''An Awesome Book of Thanks!'' (2010) through online bookseller

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

's new publishing imprint, AmazonEncore. ''An Awesome Book of Thanks!'' followed the pattern of ''An Awesome Book!'', this time delivering a message about the importance of being thankful. In 2011,

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

announced that Clayton had signed a three-book deal with

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

as well a two-book deal with

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...

. ''An Awesome Book!'' received a full scale re-release from Harpercollins in March 2012. 2012 also saw the release of ''Awesome Book of Love!'' (Harper). Clayton released a collection of children's poetry entitled ''Make Magic! Do Good!'' (

) in 2012. He released a "children's book for adults" entitled ''It's Never Too Late'' through P. Putnam's Sons in 2013. Clayton's 2014 releases included ''A is for Awesome'' and ''Lily the Unicorn''. In 2016, he wrote an early draft of a film adaptation of ''

Harold and the Purple Crayon ''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' is a 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. Published by Harper Collins Publishers, it is Johnson's most popular book, and has led to a series of other books, as well as many adaptations. Plot The protagonist ...

'' for

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...

before the film was cancelled. Clayton, along with Australian singer-songwriter

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

, wrote the screenplay for musical film ''

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'', which was released February 2021.

Personal life

With actress

Shannyn Sossamon Shannon Marie Kahololani "Shannyn" Sossamon () is an American actress, director, and musician. She has appeared in the films ''A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' 40 Days and 40 Nights'', '' The Rules of Attraction'' (both 2002), '' The Order'' (2003), ...

, Clayton has one son, named Audio Science, who was born on May 29, 2003. Clayton founded the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Awesome World Foundation in 2009 with the intention of traveling the world, reading to kids, and promoting childhood literacy. The foundation has donated books worldwide and supported various other children's causes.

Bibliography

*''An Awesome Book!'' (November 1, 2008) *''An Awesome Book of Thanks!'' (November 18, 2010) *''Make Magic! Do Good!'' (November 13, 2012) *''An Awesome Book of Love!'' (December 26, 2012) *''It's Never Too Late'' (November 7, 2013) *''A Is for Awesome'' (March 11, 2014) *''Lily the Unicorn'' (April 22, 2014)

References

External links

*
Awesome World Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Dallas Living people American children's writers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)