Graeme Base I was born in England in 1958, but have lived in Australia since I was a kid. I always wanted to be an artist and studied graphic design at Swinburne College of Technology then worked for two unhappy years in a string of design studios before concluding that the world of advertising was not for me. So I decided to be a rockstar instead and formed a band called Rikitikitavi. During this time I also wrote and illustrated my first picture book, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch (pub. 1983). Three years later Animalia came out – the book which turned a hobby into a career and is still the most popular title I have published. I've tried to stay involved in music over the years, composing an orchestral version of another book, The Sign of the Seahorse, which was performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2001 – an amazing experience! I've written musical stage adaptations of My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch and Jungle Drums and also co-wrote the theme for the animated TV series Animalia with Yuri Worontschak. My most recent picture book is Enigma, published by Penguin in October 2008. There was also a large format book entitled The Art of Graeme Base by Julie Watts, also published in 2008. I live and work in Melbourne with Robyn (she's an artist too) and our three teenage kids. Website: www. graemebase.com Author / Illustrator Questionaire My earliest memory is …..falling on a lump of coal as I tottered down the side of the house and cutting my knee (I still have the scar). My parents say it‘s impossi- ble for me to remember this as I was only 18 months old. But there it is. At school I ….was ”the kid who was good at art‘ œ which was lucky coz I sure was- n‘t good at kicking the footy! I wish I had …..better eyes œ I need glasses for everything these days and I keep losing them. I wish I hadn‘t ….eaten that extra slice of lasagna last night. One was really enough. My happiest moment was …..eating that extra slice of lasagna last night. At home I cook …..when I really, really, really have to œ or when it‘s nice outside and we do a BBQ. When I was a child I wanted to …..be an artist! Some of the books I like are …..everything by David Weisner It‘s not fashionable but I love …..my daggy general-purpose brown walking shoes Friends say I am …..the least sartorially aware person in the world. If only I could …..get more interested in going shopping. What I don‘t find amusing is ….bigotry My favourite gadget is …..my Mac At the moment I‘m reading …..”Ulysses‘ by James Joyce - and will be for quite some time yet œ it is huge and dense and often borderline unintelligible. I often wonder …..why I started. .