Hamish Steele is an English animation director, television writer and graphic novelist.
A graduate of Kingston University, Steele directed Dead End, an animated short for Frederator Studio's Cartoon Hangover, in 2014. [1] This led to him directing two animated short films for Nickelodeon's International Shorts program. He simultaneously pursued a career in webcomics and graphic novels, publishing his first novel, Pantheon in 2014.
He also expanded his short film Dead End into the webcomic DeadEndia, which ran on Tapas from 2015 to 2018, but was then significantly revised for publication as a graphic novel DeadEndia: The Watcher's Test by Nobrow Press in 2018. [2] [3] In 2022, The Watcher's Test was partially adapted by Blink Industries and Netflix Animation as an animated fantasy horror comedy television series, Dead End: Paranormal Park , with Steele serving as showrunner and executive producer. [4] The series received positive critical acclaim and several accolades, including the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming. Despite the cancellation of Paranormal Park after two seasons, the story of DeadEndia was continued in two sequel graphic novels, The Broken Halo (2019) and The Divine Order (2025). [5] [6]
Steele married his husband in 2011. [7]
| Date | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Eisner Awards | Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award | Hamish Steele (for Pantheon) | Won (tie) | [9] |
| 2019 | American Library Association Rainbow Book List | Young Adult Fiction | Hamish Steele (for DeadEndia: The Watcher's Test) | Shortlisted | [10] |
| 2023 | Dorian Awards | Best Animated Show | Dead End: Paranormal Park | Nominated | [11] |
| GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Kids and Family Programming (Animated) | Dead End: Paranormal Park | Won | [12] |