William Joyce

William Edward Joyce (born December 11, 1957; American) has achieved worldwide recognition as an author, illustrator, and pioneer in the digital and animation industry. He has written and illustrated over 50 bestselling children’s books and novels which have been translated into over 40 languages.

He began his film career by designing characters for Toy Story (1995) and has since been a producer/director/screenwriter/production designer in both animation and live-action. Among his many awards, Bill has won 6 Emmys, 3 Annies, and an Academy Award for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011).

In 1997, Newsweek magazine named Bill as “one of the 100 people to watch in the new millennium.” He has written and produced feature films, all based on his books, including Robots (2005), Meet the Robinsons (2007), Rise of the Guardians (2012), and Epic (2013). His television series include the groundbreaking Rolie Polie Olie for which he was creator and showrunner.

Bill’s new company, Howdybot Studios, is focused on stories in a variety of mediums. He just released his newest short film Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (2022) which has won awards at a number of festivals. He is also in pre-production on an animated version of The Great Gatsby. Both projects are in collaboration with DNEG and Epic Games.

His novel Ollie’s Odyssey premiered as a live-action/CG limited series on Netflix in August of 2022, garnering rave reviews. Bill hopes to someday serve as the first “Secretary of Cheerful Endeavors” for the United Nations.