Author Q&A: Justin Worsley

Author/ Bookish Everybody
13 April 2025

Justin Worsley is a product designer of kids’ toys and, more recently, a writer-illustrator, who used to live in Hong Kong. Henry the ARTistic Dog is his debut and is one of the best kid’s books we’ve read — and that’s saying a lot as we have read many, many children’s books over the years.

How did you become a writer?

Aged 52, after a 30-year career as a product designer designing children’s toys and living in London, Hong Kong, New York and Barcelona, I decided it was time for a career change and applied to study for an MA in children’s book illustration at Cambridge School of Art in the UK.

I was accepted and graduated with a distinction in 2023. As part of the course, we had to develop our own story ideas for picture books and this is when I discovered, despite my long-held belief that I was terrible at English, that I loved creating stories for children.

What would you be doing otherwise?

Alongside my fledgling career as an author-illustrator of picture books for children, I am still a freelance toy designer working for clients all over the world. Outside of work, I am a keen cyclist and love riding both off- and on- road. When I used to travel to Hong Kong for work, I would normally bring my bike with me and loved early morning rides before work.

Of the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

My debut as an author-illustrator that has recently published with Andersen Press in the UK, is Henry the ARTistic Dog. I have actually completed two more books for Andersen with different animal characters, but Henry the dog is still closest to my heart. He is loosely based on my own lovable dog, Percy.

Tell us about your writing method. Is there a secret?

At school, I always struggled with spelling and grammar and so got poor marks for English. It took me five attempts to pass ‘O’ level English! However, I have a vivid imagination and the way I work is by mapping my stories out in picture form first and then developing and fine-tuning the text to go alongside them after this.

Which author, alive or dead, would you most like to meet?

My favourite all-time author is Roald Dahl. If he was still alive, I would love to visit him in his writing shed, have a cup of tea and a biscuit, discuss writing for children and hear his opinion on my work.

Tell us about your favourite bookshop in the world.

I love my local independent children’s book shop. It’s called Bags of Books and is located in Lewes, East Sussex. It’s in a very old, slightly wonky building and only sells books for children. It’s a magical place. I used to live in New York and also used to love Books of Wonder, another magical children-only book store.

What advice would you give your younger, writer self?

My advice would be: don’t worry that you are a slow reader and aren’t good at spelling or grammar! It won’t stop you creating interesting stories, you CAN do it!

Is there going to be a sequel of Henry books?

At the moment, there are no plans to create a sequel to Henry the ARTistic dog. I see it as a stand-alone story, which I am okay with as I love creating new characters with their own unique personalities and stories. My next book is called One Fine Day and features a Moose and a Bear!

Extra: Read our review of Henry the ARTistic Dog here.

About the Author

Bookish Everybody

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