Meet the author

Steve McCarthy.

Writer & illustrator · Ireland

An Irish author-illustrator with a background-designer's eye from Song of the Sea, whose Carnegie-shortlisted debut The Wilderness is a beautiful, reassuring read for children who find bravery on their own terms.

Steve McCarthy is an Irish designer, illustrator and author whose debut author-illustrator picture book, The Wilderness (Walker Books, 2023), tells of a book-loving boy in a family of daredevil adventurers who finds his own quiet courage when he gets lost in the wild he fears most. McCarthy came to picture books from animation, having worked as a background designer on the Oscar-nominated feature Song of the Sea, and that cinematic eye shows in his richly detailed, atmospheric artwork. The Wilderness won a Children's Books Ireland Award honour for illustration and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, and he has since illustrated Eoin Colfer's Beanie the Bansheenie. His gently funny, reassuring storytelling speaks warmly to any child who finds the world a little overwhelming.