Magic Wanda Team

Renée Edwards

Writer and Director of the Magic Wanda Book and DVD Series.

Renée Edwards has worked for many years in the media, particularly in the arts and film, and has drawn on this knowledge to produce a highly creative multimedia experience for children. She has always had a love of imaginative high quality arts and crafts, and after working on some children's films and programmes, she realised she had the skills to encourage children to develop their own artistic life. Renée reads her books to many children and follows the readings with related workshops, she is always delighted by the children's enthusiasm for Magic Wanda.

Bob Gauld-Galliers

Illustrator Magic Wanda Book and DVD Series

Bob illustrates all of the Magic Wanda characters and locations. He is also the original Art Director of the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' television series and the project designer on the Fujikyu Highland 'Thomas Land' Theme Park in Japan. Bob also art directs and designs in many other areas including film and advertising.

Fenella Fielding

DVD Narrator Magic Wanda Book and DVD Series

Fenella provides her rich and unmistakably dramatic voice to narrate the stories for the DVD which accompanies the book. Her credits include BBC Radio plays, ‘Carry on Screaming!’, English National Opera, ‘Morecambe & Wise’ and ‘The Avengers’. She has also worked with Noel Coward and starred opposite Tony Curtis and George Segal.

Jacqui McCarthy

Literary Agent

Jacqui Mccarthy of D'Image Ltd is the literary agent for Magic Wanda. She specialises exclusively in children’s books. Jacqui says working with Renée is a real pleasure; Magic Wanda is such an endearing little dragon, the ideas for the stories and the activities which go with the books are all due to the talented team headed by the author Renee Edwards.

Tam Ying Wah

Book Producer and Designer

Ying Wah has over a decade of experience in print and web publishing with a wide-ranging portfolio of design, editorial and multimedia work.

Jag Matharu

Freelance Graphic Designer

Jag designed the Magic Wanda and The Gardener Book. He has been working as a designer for over 15 years, working across a broad range of design disciplines including: book design, design for print and web, retail design, corporate identity and illustration. He has also been a part-time lecturer on design topics.

Andrew Baynes

Sculptor

Andrew joined us to create the Sculpture DVD that comes with the Magic Wanda and the Sculpture book. He is in the forefront of professional sand sculpture and each year entertains tens of thousands of people, including many children, with his unique brand of sand art installations. Andrew has completed around eighty commissions including events at the Royal Festival Hall and a feature on Blue Peter. View his site.

Nikki Mager

Gardener

Nikki Mager joined us to make a secret magic garden for the Magic Wanda and the Gardener DVD. As a designer, Nikki co-presented the BBC show Garden Invaders. Nikki is a qualified Adult Education Tutor and during her training she developed activities for adults with sever learning and physical difficulties, enabling them to tend and care for a working garden.

Gardening is for all ages, whether is something as simple as a window-box or a few pots, gardening has great therapeutic qualities and we should never forget the power and beauty of nature

Nikki is currently employed by Kent Adult Education Services as A district Community Learning Manager, where she is responsible for developing and delivering Family Learning provision.

Lee Godden

Puppet Designer

Magic Wanda life-size puppet for readings and workshops made by Lee Godden. The puppet of our main character completely brings her to life for the children. It makes readings fun and vibrant for everyone. You can view photographs of the latex puppet being made and Lee's other work here.

Photography

Dale Curtis Photography

Dale takes photographs on set and in house for Magic Wanda Books. He is known for his striking art photography and also his work in fashion, travel, television and editorial.

Malcolm Tute

Malcolm took all the photos on the Magic Wanda and The Gardener shoot.

Production Team

Wendy Swan - DVD Producer and Project Manager

Wendy creates the activities for the Magic Wanda books as well as producing the video assets for the DVDs. Wendy has extensive experience in media production and arts and crafts. She adds much creativity to the series.

Barbara Chinn - Creative/Story Consultant

Barbara and Renée worked together to create the story behind the Magic Wanda tales. Barbara also wrote the poem in the introduction to each book. Barbara’s experience in performing comedy and writing means she has put her unique stamp on the Magic Wanda series, as well as bringing a wealth of knowledge on the business side.

Jacqueline Fortey - Editorial Consultant

Jackie has enjoyed editing the stories with the Magic Wanda team. She has spent many happy years working on children's books, ranging from pre-school bestsellers to highly illustrated non-fiction. Jackie and Chris Legee jointly created the At Home with Science Series, which has been translated into many languages and was shortlisted for the Aventis Junior Science Book prize in 2001.

Kim Lombard - Musician / Consultant

Kim writes and produces the Magic Wanda songs with Andrew Belling, in Andy’s studio in Los Angeles. Kim has had years of media experience in music, children’s animation, TV and film, both in front of and behind the camera.

Breeze Creative Media Ltd. - web site solution

Breeze Creative Media Ltd. provide domain registration, hosting and tailored web design solutions for businesses, charities and not for profit organisations ranging from simple, single page amendments to full bespoke online applications. We are proud to have been asked to help with the Magic Wanda website.