William Joyce (writer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids William Joyce
Joyce promoting The Man in the Moon in November 2011
Born	William Edward Joyce (1959-12-11) December 11, 1959 (age 65) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Author illustrator filmmaker
Education	Southern Methodist University
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce (1960-2016)
Children	2
Signature

William Edward Joyce, born on December 11, 1959, is an American writer, artist, and filmmaker. He is famous around the world for his books, art, and work in animation.

He has written and drawn pictures for more than 50 children's books and novels. These books have been translated into over 40 different languages.

Joyce started his film career as a concept artist for Toy Story in 1995. He has worked on many animated and live-action movies since then. His movie credits include A Bug's Life (1998) and Robots (2005). His book A Day with Wilbur Robinson was made into the Disney film Meet the Robinsons (2007). He was directly involved in making this movie.

Among his many honors, Joyce has won six Emmys, three Annies, and an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011).

Newsweek magazine named Joyce "one of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium." His feature films, all based on his books, include Epic, Rise of the Guardians, Robots, and Meet the Robinsons. He also created and was the main producer for the animated TV series Rolie Polie Olie.

He has also painted many covers for New Yorker Magazine. His company, Howdybot Studios, focuses on bringing Joyce's stories to life in different ways. Joyce's short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (2022) has won awards at several film festivals in the U.S. He is also working on an animated version of The Great Gatsby. Both of these projects are collaborations with DNEG Animation.

In 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey was made into a Netflix series called Lost Ollie.

William Joyce's Career

Children's Books

Joyce has written and illustrated over 50 children's books. Some of his well-known titles include George Shrinks, Santa Calls, Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo, Rolie Polie Olie, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, A Day with Wilbur Robinson, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, and The Guardians of Childhood series.

His first book, Tammy and the Gigantic Fish, was published in 1983. In 2011, Joyce moved his books to Simon & Schuster.

Since joining Simon & Schuster, Joyce has created many bestselling books. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore became a number one bestseller on the New York Times list in July 2012. This book has been translated into over 40 languages. Time Magazine named Morris Lessmore one of the 100 best children's books of all time.

With his company Moonbot Studios, Joyce and his partners created the Lessmore story in many forms at once. They made a short film using tiny handmade sets while the book was being illustrated. They also created an interactive story app.

The Morris Lessmore story app became very popular. In August 2011, it was briefly the bestselling app in the world, even more popular than Angry Birds. It was later added to the app hall of fame.

Film and Television Work

The Canadian children's TV shows Rolie Polie Olie and George Shrinks are both based on Joyce's books. He has won three more Emmys for other animated projects.

Joyce helped create characters for the Disney/Pixar movies Toy Story (1995) and A Bug's Life (1998). In 2001, John Lasseter, who founded Pixar, introduced Joyce to animation director Chris Wedge. At that time, Wedge's animation studio, Blue Sky Studios, was finishing a short film called Bunny. They planned to start making animated feature films, which they did with the Ice Age franchise.

In 2002, Joyce and Wedge came up with the idea for the film Robots. In the final movie, Joyce is listed as a producer and production designer.

In 2005, Joyce and Reel FX started a company called Aimesworth Amusements. They planned to make feature films, video games, and books. One of their projects, The Guardians of Childhood, was developed by DreamWorks Animation into the film Rise of the Guardians. This movie was released in 2012 and is based on Joyce's book series. Joyce was an executive producer for the film. At the end of the movie, DreamWorks dedicated it to his daughter, Mary Katherine, who passed away before the film came out.

In 2007, Disney released Meet the Robinsons, a movie based on Joyce's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson. Joyce was a co-executive producer and production designer for this film. He also wrote parts of the screenplay.

In August 2009, Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg founded MOONBOT Studios in Shreveport. This studio created an Oscar-winning animated short film and an iPad app called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. The short film won an Academy Award. A book version was released in summer 2012. The studio also released another app, The Numberlys, in January 2012. A short film and a bestselling book followed.

In 2013, Blue Sky Studios made Joyce's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs into the film Epic. Joyce worked as a writer, executive producer, and production designer for this movie.

In 2022, Joyce wrote and directed the short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat with DNEG Animation. The studio also announced that it would be making an animated movie based on The Great Gatsby, directed by Joyce.

Also in 2022, Joyce's novel Ollie's Odyssey was made into an animated series with the same name.

Awards and Honors

Joyce in March 2012 holding an Oscar for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore during a parade in his and Brandon Oldenburg's honor held in downtown Shreveport.

Joyce received the 2008 Louisiana Writer Award. This award recognized his lasting contribution to the literature of Louisiana. On February 26, 2012, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

Newsweek magazine called him one of the top 100 people to watch in the new millennium.

He has also received a Gold medal and three silver medals from the Society of Illustrators for his work, including Santa Calls.

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Personal Life

William Joyce lives with his son Jackson Edward Joyce in Shreveport, Louisiana. His daughter, Mary Katherine, passed away in 2010 at age 18. The film Rise of the Guardians was inspired by stories he told her as a child. It was dedicated to her memory. The main character of Epic was also named after her. His wife, Frances Elizabeth Baucum Joyce, passed away in 2016. He remarried on July 31, 2020.

In 2006, Joyce started the Katrinarita Gras Foundation. This foundation raised money for people affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. He sold prints of his art to help Louisiana artists and art groups.

Books by William Joyce

Picture Books and Novels

In May 2017, Atheneum Young Readers re-released some of his popular picture books. These included Bently & Egg, A Day with Wilbur Robinson (which became the movie Meet the Robinsons), and Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo. These books are part of "The World of William Joyce" collection.

• My First Book of Nursery Tales, retold by Marianna Mayer and illustrated by William Joyce (1983)
• Tammy and the Gigantic Fish by Catherine & James Gray, illustrated by William Joyce (1983)
• Waiting-for-Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts, illustrated by William Joyce (1984)
• William Joyce's Mother Goose, illustrated by William Joyce (1984)
• George Shrinks (1985)
• Shoes, written by Elizabeth Winthrop (1986)
• Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (1988)
• Humphrey's Bear by Jan Wahl, illustrated by William Joyce (1989)
• Some of the Adventures of Rhode Island Red by Stephen Manes, illustrated by William Joyce (1990)
• A Day with Wilbur Robinson (1990)
• Nicholas Cricket by Joyce Maxner, illustrated by William Joyce (1991)
• Bently & Egg (1992)
• Santa Calls (1993)
• Don't Wake the Princess: Hopes, Dreams, and Wishes, Cover art (1993)
• A Wiggly, Jiggly, Joggly Tooth by Bill Hawley, illustrated by William Joyce (1995)
• The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs (1996)
• Buddy (1997)
• World of William Joyce Scrapbook by William Joyce, photos by Philip Gould and design by Christine Kettner (1997)
• Life with Bob (board book) (1998)
• Baseball Bob (board book) (1999)
• The Art of Robots (2004)
• The Art of Rise of the Guardians (2012)
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
• The Mischievians (2013)
• The Numberlys, co-illustrated with Christina Ellis (2014)
• A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack (2014)
• Billy's Booger (2015)
• Ollie's Odyssey (2016)
• Bently & Egg (2017)
• Rocket Puppies (2024)

Rolie Polie Olie Series

1. Rolie Polie Olie (1999)
2. Rolie Polie Olie: How Many Howdys? (board book) (1999)
3. Rolie Polie Olie: A Little Spot of Color (board book) (2000)
4. Rolie Polie Olie: Polka Dot! Polka Dot! (board book) (2000)
5. Snowie Rolie (2000)
6. Rolie Polie Olie - Character Books: Olie, Spot, Zowie, Billie (2001)
7. Sleepy Time Olie (2001)
8. Big Time Olie (2002)
9. Busy Books - Peakaboo You!, Rolie Polie Shapes, Be My Pal!, Rocket Up, Rolie! (2002)

The Guardians of Childhood Series

Novels

1. Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, written with Laura Geringer (2011)
2. E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core! (2012)
3. Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies (2012)
4. The Sandman and the War of Dreams (2013)
5. Jack Frost: The End Becomes the Beginning (2018)

Picture Books

1. The Man in the Moon (2011)
2. The Sandman: The Story of Sanderson Mansnoozie (2012)
3. Jack Frost (2015)

Filmography

Movies

Television Series