I grew up about 80 miles east of Dallas, in the small town of Sulphur Springs, Texas. And it was there, at Lamar Elementary, that I wrote the first story that I remember sharing with the public: The Ozzie Bros. Meet The Monsters (you can see and read the whole thing!). It was inspired in equal parts by Star Wars (recurring dialogue: “Let’s get out of here!”), the Muppets, Abbott & Costello, and the movie-monster books I loved to check out from the school library.

I grew up with one older brother. Our mom taught high school French and Spanish, and our dad was an optometrist who died when I was eight. When I was a teenager, I loved writing with my friends, whether it was making up parodies of superheroes and soap operas or putting out an award-winning student newspaper.

It was that love of being part of a writing community that led me to the University of Texas at Austin, where I immediately joined the staff of The Daily Texan (and eventually graduated with a degree in history).

A few years later, I stumbled into another group of Austin writers — children’s writers. Here’s how that happened:

My toddler son began asking me again and again to tell him over and over the story of how I had installed a smoke detector. The story had drill sounds and alarm sounds and a captivating plot, and he couldn’t get enough. One morning, it struck me: If I could make him happy with that story, I could come up with other stories, and maybe other kids would like them, too. Not long after that, I remembered a newspaper article I’d read about the brothers who invented Day-Glo. That would make a cool story for children, I thought. Eight years later, it became my first book.

Today I have more books on the way and lots of ideas for other stories I’d like to tell. When I’m not writing, reading, researching, or revising, I love to cook, listen to music and podcasts, and find out where my thoughts will take me while I go for long walks and runs. I still live in Austin — now with my wife, author Jennifer Ziegler; the youngest of our four children; and our dog, Ernie. I still enjoy sharing my writing with my friends and sharing in their successes. And the Ozzie Brothers still make me laugh.

• Lone Star Literary Life: Lone Star Listens (2018)
• The Frederick News-Post: Best-selling children’s author to visit New Market, Deer Crossing Elementary Schools (2018)
• Nerdy Book Club: Two (or More) of Us: How Writing Communities Shaped the Authors We’ve Become (2017)
• SCBWI – Texas – Austin Member Interview: Chris Barton (2016)
• PW KidsCast: A Conversation with Chris Barton (2016)
• PTO Today: Author Interview With Chris Barton (2016)
• Nerdy Book Club: Write What You Know? Try Writing What You’d Love to Learn (2015)
• Austin American-Statesman: Local authors leading campaign for more diverse children’s books (2015)
• Let’s Get Busy podcast: Chris Barton (Ep. 122) (2015)
• Picture Book Month: Why Picture Books Are Important (2014)
• Cynsations: Chris Barton on Modern First Library (2014)
• Cynsations: Jennifer Ziegler on How to Live Happily Ever After With Another Writer (2014)
• Life & Letters: Q&A with Chris Barton (2014)
• Bartography: Big doings in Austin, San Antonio, and — next! — Fort Worth (2013)
• Cynsations: Chris Barton on Unbridled Silliness & Carefully Researched Truth-telling (2011)
• Dear Teen Me: from Chris Barton (2011)
• Sulphur Springs News-Telegram: Chris Barton: Stringing words together seemed like the thing to do (2009)
• Cynsations: Chris Barton on The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors (2009)
• Charlesbridge: From “Huh?” to “Wow!” – and Beyond (2009)
• ShelfLife@Texas: Alumnus Offers “Color” Commentary on Writing for Kids (2009)