Toowoomba children’s author Rory H Mather launches latest book Sloths Love Parties at Lighthouse ahead of national tour

From being rejected multiple times by publishers to sitting on Big W shelves, a story about partying sloths could see Toowoomba author Rory H Mather become a household name.

Trying to get a fun little book about sloths partying all night to publication has been a surprisingly long road for Toowoomba children’s writer Rory H Mather.

“It’s only 24 pages of actual story, a couple of hundred words — I wrote it in July 2020 and signed the contract in 2021,” he said.

“It got rejected five times before it got picked up — I was confident I had something good.”

Toowoomba children's author Rory H Mather will celebrate the publication of his 10th book, Sloths Love Parties, at creative space the Lighthouse on February 10, 2024.

After more than three years of hard work, the veteran local author will celebrate the publication of Sloths Love Parties at a launch in Toowoomba on Saturday.

The story, illustrated by Binny Talib and published by Affirm Press, is his 10th book since 2019 after developing a love of the format from his previous career in public libraries.

After having books published by industry giants like Scholastic in recent years, Mr Mather is hoping Sloths Love Parties and some upcoming releases will elevate his status as a picture book author.

It’s the first work where he was allowed some say on who would bring his words to life.

This is a new collaboration (with Binny) — I’d been a fan of her work for a while, but you don’t get too much say on who you get to work with (normally),” Mr Mather said.

“(Affirm) had done some work (with her before), so when it came time for (organising) the schedule based on their current titles, they suggested Binny and I said definitely.

“I love all the illustrators I’ve worked with, but this is probably the best text to illustration works I’ve done — I wanted it to have lots of colour and that is a big part of Binny’s art.”

Despite the lengthy process to get it published, Mr Mather said the story itself was written in a short period of time.

“The concept is we know that sloths love sleeping, and I came up with the idea that it’s because sloths love parties,” he said.

“It goes through all the different types of parties, culminating in a big summer party.

“I probably wrote the story in about two hours — it’s got a really good arc, and it’s really funny.

“I was always confident it would come out, but when it was picked up it felt that much better.”

Mr Mather said he owed much of his career’s success to the support of Toowoomba residents, who played a big role in getting him published four years ago.

Sloths Love Parties is now available at all major book retailers and Big W.

Mr Mather will host a book launch at the Lighthouse on Margaret Street on February 10 from 10am, ahead of a national tour promoting it.

Originally published as Toowoomba children’s author Rory H Mather launches latest book Sloths Love Parties at Lighthouse ahead of national tour