Clayton began his writing career by self-publishing small run short storyzines which he distributed in art galleries, music venues, and on street corners throughout the U.S.
Work
After the birth of his son in 2003, Clayton wrote, illustrated, and published An Awesome Book!, a 64-page children's picture book about "dreaming big". After being turned down by several major publishing houses Clayton opted to self-publish An Awesome Book! by posting the book for free online and using mostly non-traditional means of distribution, after which the book sold over 50,000 copies to date. Clayton was hired in 2009 as the editor-in-chief of We Love You So, an art magazine founded by director Spike Jonze, designed to tie into with Where the Wild Things Are, Jonze's adaptation of the children's book of the same title. Clayton released his next book, An Awesome Book of Thanks! through online bookseller Amazon.com's new publishing imprint, AmazonEncore. An Awesome Book of Thanks! followed the pattern of An Awesome Book!, this time delivering a message about the importance of being thankful. In 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Clayton had signed a three-book deal with Harper Collins as well a two-book deal with Candlewick Press. An Awesome Book! received a full scale re-release from Harpercollins in March 2012. 2012 also saw the release of Awesome Book of Love!. Clayton released a collection of children's poetry entitled Make Magic! Do Good! in 2012. He released a "children's book for adults" entitled It's Never Too Late through P. Putnam's Sons in 2013. Clayton's 2014 releases included A is for Awesome and Lily the Unicorn. As of 2016, he's writing a film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon for Sony Pictures Animation. Clayton, along with Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler, wrote the screenplay for musical filmMusic. The film is expected for release in September 2020.
Personal life
With actress Shannyn Sossamon, Clayton has one son who was born on May 29, 2003. Clayton founded the non-profit Awesome World Foundation in 2009 with the intention of traveling the world, reading to kids, and promoting childhood literacy. The foundation has donated books worldwide and supported various other children's causes.
