ANNA EMM is a London-based writer and producer.
Born Anna Margriet Strydom, she gained popularity in South Africa under the pseudonym, Anna Emm. Through her production company she wrote and produced more than 3,000 audio stories for children in the span of 16 years. She also had a prolific and versatile self-publishing career, writing 21 romance novels, 5 suspense novels, 38 whodunit novellas, and various short stories and stage productions.
With a degree in Education and 4 years' teaching experience, Anna witnessed first hand the effect of stories on the mental and emotional development of children. Intrigued by this, she spent most of her career researching fiction as a means of creating emotional resilience in both children and adults. She often appeared on television and radio, speaking about the therapeutic value of stories. In 2015 she won Afrigrowth’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.
After relocating to London in 2023, Anna founded Spoonpress Ltd, a production company through which she is currently adapting some of her work for film. Marking her 50th birthday, she teamed up with Irish film director Jason Figgis and illustrator Elanie Bieldt to launch The Jubilee Series - a selection of 50 children’s stories for the UK market, releasing as brand new picture books, with video read-alongs and colouring activities.
“... What Anna Emm has done for our youth is not only upliftment and healing, but spiritual growth… If there is one thing she understands about children, it is that they should be respected in their own right. She also understands what most of us celebrated writers have already forgotten: that for a story to really work it has to be, above all, FUN.”
