The only other Ken Wilson-Max I know of was my dad. Besides his name I inherited his curiosity. It drove me to observe things from a very young age, drawing my thoughts to keep them safe on paper so I could have more thoughts.
Nowadays I write and illustrate books for children to see themselves and their friends in stories. I also publish stories from new and experienced creators alike, and advocate for a fairer publishing industry. Everyone has a story to tell.
I travelled to the UK to study and ended up working a publishing company. After a decade of designing books for children and young adults, I became a children’s author and illustrator.
In 2017 when I became the owner of Alanna Max Books. This independent publishing house specialises in telling stories for young children about people from different backgrounds.
Then, in 2021, Ken was hired by Harper Collins Children’s Books in the UK to set up and run their first official imprint and the focus of their move to publishing more inclusive books. The imprint is called Kumusha Books.
Kumusha is a Shona word from Zimbabwe describing the concept of home- it refers to more than a physical place. It is the place where you are pulled to every now and then, the place where you feel most safe. The imprint hopes to encourage children to feel at home with books byt telling stories about all children created by authors and illustarors from around the world.
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I am represented by Clare Wallace of Darley Anderson.
Here is a list of my books for children