Anthony has been a youth worker, teacher and learning support tutor for children with dyslexia for 20 years, as well as doing a raft of other jobs in-between. These have included locations scout for Warner Bros. studios in California, bookseller, police press officer, storyteller at the Roald Dahl Museum, land manager in the Redwood Forest and – his favourite job – working as a tour guide at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath (because it meant dressing up in Georgian clothes every day and talking about literature).

Anthony has written scripts and articles for the BBC Doctor Who Adventures children’s comic, Nickelodeon, CiTV, Disney, Dreamworks, Paramount, Haymarket and the Guardian newspaper.

He’s been writing and reading children’s books for about seven years, and is currently being mentored by Imogen Cooper at the Golden Egg Academy (where he also volunteers as a writing buddy for many of the brilliant writers mentored at the academy). Anthony loves to read a range of books, from picture books to adult titles, but his favourite age and genre to read is upper middle grade magic realism that often crosses over into Young Adult. In addition to this, Anthony is a long-list judge for the Bath Novel Award (children’s and adults).

After living in Weymouth, Portsmouth, Los Angeles, Chepstow, London and Bath, Anthony recently moved down to Devon and now lives there with his girlfriend, Amy, and their two black cats, Sherlock and Watson.

Twitter:  @AnthonyJBurt

Recent Posts by Anthony Burt

Jefferson by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

When I started reading this book, I honestly wasn’t expecting such a sharp, grown-up, witty murder-mystery involving a hedgehog, a ...
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Swan Song by Gill Lewis

Swan Song is a very special book by Gill Lewis. It’s a melancholic journey through a young boy’s mental health ...
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World Burn Down by Steve Cole & Oriol Vidal

This story feels like a passion project by writer Steve Cole, it is full of heart, soul and some genuinely ...
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Wrecked by Louisa Reid

Get ready for a high-speed, emotional rollercoaster of a ride when you start reading Louisa Reid’s brilliant YA book, Wrecked ...
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Daisy and the Unknown Warrior by Tony Bradman & Tania Rex

Sadly, Daisy’s father died in World War One but her family were never able to have a funeral because his ...
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The House on Hoarder Hill by Mikki Lish & Kelly Ngai

If you’re looking for a light-hearted, adventure-filled fun little middle-grade novel, then this is definitely one to consider. Co-authored by ...
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The Time Traveller and the Tiger by Tania Unsworth

Elsie has a boring summer ahead with her Uncle John, except it turns out to be a lot more interesting ...
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Elsetime by Eve McDonnell

Elsetime is such a wonderful, heart-warming, quirkily-written little book that it will make you fall in love with its story ...
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Knight Sir Louis and the Dreadful Damsel, by the Brothers McLeod

Without a doubt this everso slightly bonkers book is one of the funniest, most original and random pieces of children’s ...
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Evie and the Animals by Matt Haig & Emily Gravett

Matt has such a lively, accessible writing tone that it’s almost impossible not to get sucked into this brilliant and ...
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The Steam Whistle Theatre Company by Vivian French

What a jaunty, hilarious and pantomime-esque adventure of a story Vivian’s book is! Full of charm, bubbly characters, theatrical melodrama ...
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Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly

Meet Lalani Sarita – a young, dreamer of a girl who lives on an un-touched-by-time island called Sanlagita, in a ...
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The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

This book is almost five years old, but I am very pleased to have just discovered it! The Thing About ...
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The Eel Question

This short book, by the lovely and passionate zoologist and broadcaster, Nicola Davies, has a stunning, haunting and magical quality ...
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Seven Ghosts by Chris Priestley

Harking back to Chris Priestley’s classic Tales of Terror books – which involved one character being told a series of ...
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The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan

This book is an emotional, haunting rollercoaster of fairytale-meets-stranded-islanders-meets-teenage-sexual-awakening-meets-mermaids. Except it’s not about mermaids, really. Or is it? The Gloaming ...
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Lightning Mary by Anthea Simmons

Set in the harsh, deadly coastal winters of 19th Century Lyme Regis, in England, Anthea Simmons’ gritty, compelling book about ...
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White Feather by Catherine MacPhail & David MacPhail

A white feather given to someone came to symbolise cowardice during the traumatic times of World War I. And that ...
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The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty

If you thought you’d read every type of middle-grade fantasy-adventure there is, then think again. With The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures ...
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Pip & Posy: The New Friend by Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler is, of course, Mr Gruffalo and – in this new soft-cloth, cushioned book for very young children – ...
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The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared by Petr Horacek

The Big-little mouse seems to believe she isn’t scared of the really big, scary animals in the woods. And, to ...
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I Don’t Want to be Small by Laura Ellen Anderson

This is surely every young child’s biggest frustration – just wanting to be MUCH bigger! And Laura Ellen Anderson explores ...
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The Perfect Sofa by Fifi Kuo

What a cute and colourful picture book this is. Full of some lovely, bright and cheerful images – this book ...
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The Clue is in the Poo by Andy Seed & Claire Almon

Hold your nose before you dive into this educational book, because it’s jammed full of smelly poo! Animal poo, to ...
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The Red Dread by Tom Morgan-Jones

Talk about an off-the-wall, surreal and a little bit nuts picture book! This strange, dramatic and close-up picture book is ...
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The Pawed Piper by Michelle Robinson & Chinlun Lee

All the little girl in this wonderful picture book wants is a cat of her own to cuddle. Lots of ...
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The Trapdoor Mysteries – The Scent of Danger by Abie Longstaff

Abie Longstaff has written another fun, exciting and gently mysterious story in her Trapdoor Mysteries series. This one sees the ...
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Tooth Fairy in Training by Michelle Robinson & Briony May Smith

What a scrumptious, shiny and fast-paced little picture book this is! With a rather unique take on how tooth fairies ...
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Rebel Cats – Brave Tales of Feisty Felines by Kimberlie Hamilton

What a marvellous, heart-warming and wonderfully educational book Rebel Cats – Brave Tales of Feisty Felines is! It is an ...
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The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius

This is an astonishing book. Not just because of its effortless, innocent, and engaging prose. Not just because its main ...
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The Legend of Sally Jones by Jakob Wegelius

The Legend of Sally Jones is a weird and wonderful picture-book-cum-graphic-novel for an indeterminate age group. It’s the prequel to ...
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Potter’s Boy by Tony Mitton

Like a calming, gentle breeze of morning meditation, Tony Mitton’s unique middle-grade story – Potter’s Boy – takes us on ...
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The Wonderling by Mira Bartok

Once in awhile a gorgeous children’s book comes along that you just know is going to be a tour-de-force of ...
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The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street – Lindsay Currie

When Tessa has to reluctantly move from her home in Florida to the windy city of Chicago, she is annoyed ...
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The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies

Benji Davies has returned to his beautiful, cosy and warm-hearted storm whale world again, with this delightful follow-up called The ...
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Black Powder – Ally Sherrick

Black Powder by Ally Sherrick is a really fun, indulging and involving gunpowder plot adventure where a boy called Tom Garnett ...
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The Hazel Wood – Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a slow-burning, gripping and very original spooky fairy-tale mashup tale for YA readers. It’s ...
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Farts in the Wild – H.W. Smeldit & Jared Chapman

This interactive, press-and-play picture books for younger children is probably one of the most important books to be published in ...
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A Beautiful Lie – Irfan Master

Set in post-war India, this incredibly warm and realistic middle-grade tale is about a young boy called Bilal. He lives ...
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Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell

A lovely, fun and deliciously weird little book! ...
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The Day I Became The Most Wanted Boy In The World

a punchy, rollercoaster ride of unpredictable events ...
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The Fox And The Star

First and foremost, the front cover of The Fox and the Star is so beautiful that I’d happily frame it and ...
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The Secret of Nightingale Wood

The Secret of Nightingale Wood is an incredibly moving, beautifully written and sumptuously layered book by Lucy Strange. With an ...
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Bee Boy: Attack of the Zombees

Attack of the Zombees is such a fun nature-based, comic book/chapter book mash-up! Book two in Tony De Saulles Bee Boy ...
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Steve, the Terror of the Sea

How on Earth could such a tiny, unassuming fish like little Steve be so scary? Well, this fun, frolic of ...
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Bullet Catcher

Bullet Catcher, by Joaquin Lowe, is one of the coolest books I’ve read for ages – it’s a YA genre-mash of ...
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Grandad’s Island

I’m becoming a huge fan of Benji Davies’ bold, bright and mesmerising illustration style, so was really pleased to spot Grandad’s ...
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The Truth and Lies of Ella Black

Emily Barr’s The Truth and Lies of Ella Black is an incredibly good, tense, page-turner of a book! I was sucked straight ...
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Grave Matter

For those unfamiliar with Barrington Stoke books, they are a fabulous big-hearted publisher of quality, dyslexic-friendly novels for children and ...
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A Witch Alone

In the second book of James Nicol’s witchy series he’s achieved that rare thing: he’s created a sequel that’s even ...
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White Fang

Published in 1905, this is a classic tale (not tail, although many of those feature in this story) of an ...
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Penguin in Love

Penguin in Love,  text and illustrations by Salina Yoon, is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful picture book about a penguin searching for love ...
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Newes from the Dead

Based on actual events in Anne Green’s life, Mary Hooper’s Newes from the Dead, is a fantastic, enthralling upper-MG / ...
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Paper Wishes

Cover Illustration: Julia Kuo Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban is a beautiful little book is written with such brevity and ...
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Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, a classic American children’s book, came as a recommendation from a good ...
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The Island

This short, specially-written World Book Day story by David Almond is a little gem. Written in Almond’s signature poetic, ethereal ...
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Anthony Burt – Best Book of 2017

Anthony Burt, an Upper Middle Grade Specialist reviewer for My Book Corner, selects his Best Book of 2017… Cover: Karl ...
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The Floating Theatre

This sumptuous, epic Young Adult novel is firmly rooted – with its glorious prose and tone – in the Deep ...
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The Storm Whale

Very rarely do I buy picture books just for myself, but there was something magical and seaside-fairytale about this one, ...
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Letters From The Lighthouse

Cover Illustration: Julian De Narvaez The multi-talented (and now prolific!) writer of children’s books, the very lovely Emma Carroll, has ...
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The Boy, the Bird & The Coffin Maker

Cover: Anuska Allepuz Well, what a truly magical book! Not only is its cover stunning and its inside illustratins beautiful ...
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The Secret Keepers

Cover: Karl James Mountford This is my first Trenton Lee Stewart book and – oh my days – what a ...
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