Aaron Blabey (born 1 January 1974) is an Australian author of children's books, and a former actor. He is the creator of three best-selling children's series; ''Pig the Pug'' – a picture book series about a rude, selfish, mean-spirited little dog, '' The Bad Guys'' – a ''

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'' #1 best-selling graphic novel series for junior readers about a gang of scary-looking animals trying to change their bad reputations, and ''Thelma the Unicorn'' – a second picture book series about a plain little pony who pretends to be a unicorn. As of December 2022, Blabey has around 35 million books in print and his books have spent over 120 weeks on ''The New York Times'' best-seller list. ''The Bad Guys'' first reached #1 on the list on 3 July 2019. On 22 April 2022, an animated movie adaptation of '' The Bad Guys'' from

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starring

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, Awkwafina, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, and Anthony Ramos premiered in the United States. Blabey served as an executive producer on the movie with Patrick Hughes and Etan Cohen. The movie opened at #1 at the U.S. box office and was the fifth-highest-grossing animated film of 2022. In May 2019, it was announced that

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is developing a movie-musical adaptation of '' Thelma the Unicorn'' with Blabey again serving as executive producer. Until 2005, Blabey was also an actor. In the field of acting, he is probably best known for his lead roles in two television dramedies, 1994's '' The Damnation of Harvey McHugh'', for which he won an Australian Film Institute Award, and 2003's '' CrashBurn'',Australian Television: Crashburn: profiles
accessed 25 November 2008 before retiring from performance in 2005.

Personal life

Aaron Blabey was born on 1 January 1974, in Bendigo, Australia. He married the actress and speech pathologist Kirstie Hutton in April 2000. They have two sons. Blabey supports The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, who work to protect children from violence.The Alannah and Madeline Foundation
accessed 20 December 2015

Career

Acting

Blabey appeared in various television and film roles throughout the 1990s and 2000s and took part in several theatrical productions.ABC 2002

, accessed 25 November 2008 Besides his 1994 award for acting in a lead role, the Australian Film Institute also nominated him in 2000 for his guest-starring role in the series '' Stingers''.

Art

From the mid-2000s, Blabey turned his attention away from acting and towards painting and created six separate solo exhibitions across Australia between 2004 and 2006.Aaron BLABEY in stock at Art Nomad
accessed 25 November 2008

Early picture books

Then in 2006, Blabey turned his focus entirely to the creation of children's picture books. The first of these, ''Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley'', was published in July 2007. In 2008, the book received a Children's Book Council of Australia Award in the council's Early Childhood category.Penguin Group (Australia) – Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Blabey, Aaron
, accessed 25 November 2008 The book was also shortlisted for the CBCA's Crichton Award (given to new illustrators), The NSW Premier's Literature Awards – The Patricia Wrightson Award, and the Children's Peace Literature Award. In 2008, the book was also included on the Notable Book list from the

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.Penguin Books Australia – Aaron Blabey (Author)
accessed 8 December 2011 His second book, ''Sunday Chutney'', was published in 2008 and shortlisted for the CBCA Picture Book of the Year 2009Penguin Group (Australia) – Sunday Chutney
, accessed 25 November 2008 and the Australian Book Industry Awards 2009. His third book, ''Stanley Paste'', was a CBCA Notable Book in the Picture Book category in 2010
accessed 8 December 2011 as was ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon'' in 2012, which was also selected as a prestigious White Raven of 2012 by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon'' also won the Patricia Wrightson Award in 2013 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and the 2013 Children's Peace Literature Award. In early 2014, Nick Cave selected ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon'' to record for the Story Box Library website. His fifth book, ''The Dreadful Fluff'' won the Best Designed Children's Cover of the Year by the Australian Publishers Association in 2013,61st Annual Book Design Awards 2013, Australian Publishers Association
, accessed 25 May 2013 which also saw the release of his critically acclaimed sixth title, ''Noah Dreary''. This was followed by a picture book for adults entitled ''Babies Don't Suck'' – a guide for expectant new fathers. Blabey's seventh children’s book, ''The Brothers Quibble'', which deals with sibling rivalry, was chosen as the National Simultaneous Storytime Book of 2015, and was read by over 500,000 children on 27 May 2015.

''Pig the Pug'', ''Thelma the Unicorn'' and ''Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas''

In 2014 Blabey signed a three-book deal with Scholastic Australia beginning with ''Pig the Pug'', a humorous picture book about a rude, selfish, mean-spirited dog ( pug), who always gets into arguments and even fights with his rival playmate, the friendly, polite-mannered, good-hearted Trevor (

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: 'badger dog'), also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varie ...

). The book was an immediate hit in Australia and has since been translated into many languages and published around the world. It spawned a series of Pig books including ''Pig the Fibber'' (2015), ''Pig the Winner'' (2016), ''Pig the Elf'' (2016), ''Pig the Star'' (2017), ''Pig the Grub'' (2018), ''Pig the Tourist'' (2019), ''Pig the Slob (Blob)'' (2020), ''Pig the Monster'' (2021) and the final instalment ''Pig the Rebel'' (2022). The Pig books have sold millions of copies around the world, predominantly in the USA and Australia. The second book released from his initial three-book-deal was ''Thelma the Unicorn''. This picture book – about a plain little pony who dreams of becoming a unicorn – has also become a bestseller. In combination with its sequel ''The Return of Thelma the Unicorn'', it has sold millions of copies as well. In June 2019, it was announced that

was developing an animated musical movie adaptation of '' Thelma the Unicorn'', to be directed by Jared Hess (who wrote the script with his wife Jerusha) and Lynn Wang with animation provided by Mikros Image Montreal. Blabey served as an executive producer on the project. The film adaptation released on 17 May 2024.

''The Bad Guys''

2015 also saw the release of the first two instalments of Blabey's best-selling graphic novel series for junior readers, '' The Bad Guys''. The humorous series follows the adventures of a gang of scary-looking, dangerous animals – Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark and Mr. Piranha – who attempt to change their bad reputations by performing good deeds. In January 2018, ''The Bad Guys'' hit

The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

(Children's Series) and have since remained there for many weeks. After 36 weeks on the list, ''The Bad Guys'' finally reached the number one spot on 3 July 2019. As of December 2022, there are over 25 million ''Bad Guys'' books in print around the world and the series has spent over 120 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. On 9 March 2018 it was announced that an animated

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

adaptation of '' The Bad Guys'' was in development at

– with a screenplay by Etan Cohen. On 17 October 2019 the project went into production with a scheduled release date of 17 September 2021. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the release date was pushed back to 22 April 2022. The movie is directed by veteran animator Pierre Perifel in his feature directorial debut and produced by Damon Ross and Rebecca Huntley and written by Etan Cohen, who also serves as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

on the project with both Blabey (the book's author) and Patrick Hughes. It stars

(Mr. Wolf), Awkwafina (Ms. Tarantula), Marc Maron (Mr. Snake), Craig Robinson (Mr. Shark) and Anthony Ramos (Mr. Piranha). Whilst promoting the movie in Los Angeles in April 2022, Blabey appeared on Marc Maron’s podcast WTF and discussed his journey to that point with Maron who played Mr Snake in the film. A Netflix-exclusive holiday special, subtitled " A Very Bad Holiday", was released on 30 November 2023. In March 2022, a month before the film was released, Perifel said that he would love to do a sequel. Two years later, DreamWorks Animation officially confirmed a sequel with a release date set for 1 August 2025. Perifel will return to direct and JP Sans, who served as head of character animation on the previous film, will co-direct, with the cast reprising their roles.

''Cat On The Run''

In January 2022, about 3 months before the release of the film adaptation of ''The Bad Guys'', Blabey announced that a new book series called ''Cat on The Run'' is in development and was released in 2023. The book takes place in the same universe as ''The Bad Guys'' and the story will feature the world’s #1 cat video star trying to prove her innocence after she was framed for a crime she didn’t commit.

Art direction

Blabey has also worked as a staff writer at a major

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and spent two years as a lecturer at a prominent Sydney design college.

Honours and awards

*1994, Australian Film Institute Award, Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama, ''The Damnation of Harvey McHugh'', episode: "Spay Misty For Me." *2008, Children's Book of the Year Award: Early Childhood, ''Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley''. *2012, White Ravens Award by the International Youth Library, ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon''. *2012, National Literacy Ambassador *2012 - 2015, Ambassador for The Alannah and Madeline Foundation. *2013, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature, ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon''. *2013, Best Designed Children's Cover of the Year by the Australian Publishers Association, ''The Dreadful Fluff''. *2013, The Children's Peace Literature Award from the Australian Psychological Society – Psychologists For Peace, ''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon''. *2016, INDIE books award for Best Children's Book, ''The Bad Guys''

List of works

As author and illustrator: *''Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2007. *''Sunday Chutney'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2008. *''Stanley Paste'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2009. *''The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2011. *''The Dreadful Fluff'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2012. *''Noah Dreary'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2013. *''The Brothers Quibble'', Penguin Books, Australia, 2014. *''Pig The Pug'', Scholastic Australia, July 2014. *''Babies Don't Suck'', Pan Macmillan Australia, August 2014. *''Thelma the Unicorn'', Scholastic Australia, February 2015. *''Pig the Fibber'', Scholastic Australia, May 2015 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 1)'', Scholastic Australia, July 2015 *''Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas'', Scholastic Australia, September 2015. *''The Bad Guys (Episode 2 - Mission Unpluckable)'', Scholastic Australia, November 2015 *''I Need A Hug'', Scholastic Australia, December 2015 *''Pig the Winner'', Scholastic Australia, March 2016 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 3 - The Furball Strikes Back)'', Scholastic Australia, May 2016 *''Don't Call Me Bear'', Scholastic Australia, June 2016 *''Pig the Elf'', Scholastic Australia, October 2016 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 4 - Attack of the Zittens)'', Scholastic Australia, November 2016 *''Busting!'', Scholastic Australia, February 2017 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 5 - Intergalactic Gas)'', Scholastic Australia, May 2017 *''Guff'', Penguin Australia, August 2017 *''Pig the Star'', Scholastic Australia, September 2017 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 6 - Alien Vs Bad Guys)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2017 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 7 - Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?)'', Scholastic Australia, May 2018 *''Pig the Grub'', Scholastic Australia, September 2018 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 8 - Superbad)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2018 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 9 - The Big Bad Wolf)'', Scholastic Australia, May 2019 *''Pig the Tourist'', Scholastic Australia, July 2019 *''The Return of Thelma the Unicorn'', Scholastic Australia, October 2019 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 10 - The Baddest Day Ever)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2019 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 11 - Dawn of the Underlord),'' Scholastic Australia, May 2020 *''Pig the Slob (Blob)'', Scholastic Australia, September 2020 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 12 - The One?!)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2020 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 13 - Cut to the Chase)'', Scholastic Australia, May 2021 *''Pig the Monster'', Scholastic Australia, July 2021 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 14 - They’re Bee-hind You!)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2021 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 15 - Open Wide and Say Arrrgh!)'', Scholastic Australia, July 2022 *''Pig the Rebel'', Scholastic Australia, July 2022 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 16 - The Others?!)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2022 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 17 - Let the Games Begin!)'', Scholastic Australia, June 2023 *''Cat On The Run in Cat of Death!'', Scholastic Australia, September 2023 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 18 - Look Who's Talking!)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2023 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 19 - The Serpent and The Beast)'', Scholastic Australia, June 2024 *''The Bad Guys (Episode 20 - One Last Thing)'', Scholastic Australia, October 2024

Other editions

The ''Pig the Pug'' series is published by Scholastic Canada in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. This edition preserves the Australian spelling of the original.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blabey, Aaron 1974 births Living people AACTA Award winners Australian male actors Australian artists Australian children's writers Writers who illustrated their own writing