The Gecko and the Echo

About Rachel Bright

Rachel Bright is a wordsmith, illustrator and professional thinker of happy thoughts. She has written several books for children, including Love Monster, The Lion Inside and The Koala Who Could – winner of the Evening Standard Oscar’s Book Prize and the Sainsbury’s Book Award. Her books have sold over 300,000 copies in the UK alone and been translated into over 30 languages. She is also the creator of award-winning stationery and homewares range, The Brightside. Rachel lives on a farm near the seaside, with her partner and their two young daughters.

You can read an extended biography of Rachel by clicking here. 

10 Things you might not know about Rachel Bright:

She collects alphabets and hats and has a Nissan Figaro car which everyone says looks like a matchbox toy.

She used to be an air Hostess for Virgin Atlantic, when she got to visit Richard Branson's island of Necker.

She loves nothing more than getting all inky in the printmaking studio where she’ll often work super late, when there’s magic in the air.

She lives on a farm near the seaside, which she shares with her family, their dog Elvis and a cockerel called Herman.

She’s done zillions of different jobs before becoming an author and illustrator, including owning a landscape gardening business, being a life-guard and a TV extra (she was once taken hostage by Daleks in 'Dr.Who'). Her first proper boss was Samantha Cameron, now of No.10 Downing St.

She also runs an impressively global card and gift empire called ‘the brightside’ and occasionally practices her evil laugh.

She has hundreds of stories tucked away in her studio (an occasionally messy, converted caravan) which she can’t wait to turn into books.

She once won a week-long date in Tahiti, with ‘Man of the Millenium’ featured in Marie Claire magazine (and then spent a long time living it down).

She spent six years working as a copywriter in advertising, during which time she once had to dress up as a chicken.

She runs a really long way every day and has done loads of ultra-marathons all over the world, the most recent of which include the Atlantic Coast Challenge (3 marathons in 3 days) and the Midnight Sun marathon in the Arctic Circle.