Biography

Darren was born and raised in Birmingham, where his love for drawing began with felt-tips on wallpaper and paint splashes across the kitchen table. From a young age, he had a pencil in one hand and a story forming in the back of his mind. One of his earliest creative highlights? Being proudly paraded by his mom from one village fête to the next, entering local art competitions — and occasionally walking away with a winner's certificate or rosette.

Although drawing came naturally, reading didn't — not at first. “I can't remember reading a single book during my school years,” Darren admits. “Looking back, that feels like a crime. Books should be part of growing up — encouraged, praised, and made almost compulsory.” That realisation came full circle when Darren became a father. Over the past 30 years, he's read hundreds of books to his three children — discovering Paddington Bear, Danny the Champion of the World, Swallows and Amazons, Treasure Island, and all the stories he missed the first time around. “It's been a joy to share those books with my children — like a second chance at a magical childhood I never quite had.”

Darren's creative path led him into the world of graphic design, where he turned his love of drawing into a career — designing logos, print campaigns, and everything in between. That visual storytelling has now found a new home in children's books.

One day, while on a family holiday, a silly drawing on the back of a restaurant map led to the invention of Meekee Mooka — a curious little creature with wild adventures and a big heart. That moment sparked something real: a chance to create stories that could live on shelves and in imaginations, blending Darren's love of illustration, storytelling, and family.

He writes and illustrates under the pen name Papski, inspired by what his daughter Georgina called him from an early age. Darren's work is driven by one thing: bringing a little creativity, warmth, and magic into people's lives — one project at a time.