Meet Duncan Beedie
Bristol-based Duncan Beedie has been a great favourite with children - and teachers- since his first book, ‘The Bear Who Stared’. Since then he has not only written his own books, but illustrated those of others, delighting readers with trips to the moon, inventions in the Stone Age and warmed our hearts with tales of kindness. He also does wonderful school visits- dressing in space gear last time I saw him! I am thrilled he agreed to join me today!
1. I was delighted when Bear from ‘The Bear Who Stared’ made a second appearance in your new book, ‘No Sleep for Bear’. Will there be more adventures for this loveable character?
Funny you should ask that. At this very moment in time I am waiting for the green light from my publishers to begin the third instalment of the 'Bear' saga. I can't give too much away but, like the previous stories, it revolves around a simple relatable theme and , yes, Frog does come to the rescue once again.
2. In ‘The Last Chip’, your illustrations show that Bristol is the city where Percy the pigeon lives. Are the settings of your stories often inspired by places you know?
'The Last Chip' is the the only story I've written that has a specific geographical setting – and even then I took some artistic license with how I represented it. The setting for 'The Lumberjack's Beard' was essentially a love letter to my time in the US when I was a student at the University of Wyoming. I got to travel to the Rockies, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and beyond. The vastness of the mountains and the forests was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
3. When a new story comes to you, do you have an idea for the setting or characters first- or does it vary?
It is usually the character that comes to me first, then I build outwards form there. I ponder: where do they live? Where do they sleep? What do they eat? What might their daily routine be? If a story idea then hooks itself to that scenario I try and run with it. Needless to say, for every story I have successfully completed there are about a dozen unfinished or just plain unworkable ones.
4. In my experience, children find the eyes of your characters very appealing! They feel (and I quote) that ‘they are my friends because they look at me as if inviting me into the story’. Do you spend a lot of time getting the eyes of your characters right – or is this a happy accident?
Well, first off, that is probably the most beautiful and awe-inspiring description of my work that I have ever received! With children coming out with turns of phrase like that, it is massively reassuring that there is a generation of wordsmiths out there, just waiting to make their mark.
As for the question itself, I find that it's the eyebrows that are key – hence they are a prominent feature with all of my characters. Whenever I do a school or festival visit I always like to point out the art of eyebrow expression and how it portrays the characters' emotions throughout the story.
5. As well as writing and illustrating your own stories, you illustrate those by other authors. Which do you prefer doing and how much discussion do you have with authors about what their characters should look like before you work your magic?
75% of my time is probably spent illustrating for other authors. It's the bulk of my day to day work and I love it. Each author has a unique style that requires a different approach, but it's still important for me to imprint my own approach through my art style. I presume that is why a publisher would approach me in the first place.
Discussion between author and illustrator is minimal to non-existent in my experience. I believe that's the best way to be as good editors and art directors (who are worth their weight ion gold, I should point out) can steer the creative process smoothly and with the minimum of fuss.
6. What are you working on at the moment? Would you consider writing highly illustrated fiction for younger readers?
I wrote a chapter book draft back in pre-Covid times – remember them? Those heady, halcyon days? Needless to say it got shelved and I burrowed into picture book illustration work to get me through as much of lockdown as I could. However, I will be blowing the dust off it later this year and see if it has legs.
7. And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?
Well, I have to say it would be my mum's Bakewell tart. It's astonishingly good. It's like having an intravenous injection of almond essence.
Many thanks to Duncan for answering my questions. I can’t wait to see what Bear gets up to next and really hope your dusty chapter book makes an appearance soon!
You can read my review of ‘Oof Makes an Ouch! here, Molly’s Moon Mission here and ‘The Last Chip’ here. You can find out how to make a sleepy Bear here.
