Bologna Children’s Book Fair Daily
Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026
We kid you not
In our eight-page focus (p6-16), more than 40 literary agencies reveal the hottest titles they are taking to BCBF
Darley
Anderson
The children’s book agency’s growing roots (p18)
Tiny Hercules Graphic-novel creators Jon Lock and Nich Angell (p21)
Beyond the Pages at Beijing International Book Fair Reception
&
Premiere of the Video Series
“Hello, Beijing” April �� China Pavilion，H�� B���
(Only for publishers)
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Agents’ Hotlists Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Read it and... laugh: are funny books a crisis corrective?
Our wrap-up coverage of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2025 focused on the main topic of conversation in the aisles of the Fiere – the reading crisis – and ended with United Agents books boss Jodie Hodges musing on a pan-industry advertising campaign pr omoting kids’ reading. A year on, Hodges’ wish may have not exactly come to pass, but there is a version of it in the UK’s National Year of Reading.
The reading crisis is a problem shared, with statistics showing that few countries are spared; as the UK is the world’s biggest exporter
of books, this is worrying. Often this issue is framed as sort of a do-goodery, charitable exercise: “Wouldn’t it be lovely to get kids reading again?” That may be shifting with Pan Macmillan chief executive Joanna Prior’s cagerattling keynote at the recent London Book Fair urging the industry to get its collective head out of its arse on AI and put more effort into the reading crisis (I paraphrase). You could quibble with some of her points but not that there is a hard business case: if the crisis is not dealt with, the book trade could be cooked.
It is heartening, then, to see initiatives across the world
promoting reading for pleasure, such as February’s annual monthlong Ireland Reads campaign. Or the European Union-backed Read. ForReal Authors Day (which in fact lasts a month), the flagship of a suite of programmes for the organisation’s member states, overseen by the literacy network EURead. Yet, and this might be apostasy to mention as we Go All In for 2026, I fear the deck is stacked against these reading campaigns. And we all know why: the digital dissonance of our age. Kids are at the sharp edge of this. A huge weight of academic research across the Western world shows that exposure to screens has led to Gen Alpha being in cognitive decline versus previous generations in literacy, numeracy and emotional intelligence. There is a counterargument that digital natives should not be assessed as previous generations, and this is not cognitive decline but a shift in skills.
Whichever theory prevails, younger readers are at a different place than a decade ago. Again, back to our end-of-Bologna 2025 piece in which the prevailing mood was that the industry needed to adapt to “meet kids where they are” with shorter books, graphic novels and funnier, more joyful
Agents’ Hotlists About
The Bookseller’s Hotlists are literary agencies’ top manuscripts out on submission with UK and international publishers, compiled by Tom Tivnan for the London, Bologna and Frankfurt book fairs. Each agency selects its own titles, limited to a maximum of five. Rights deals listed
Amusing middle-grade novels and humorous fantasy are clearly the surging trend
titles so as not to lock a generation out of reading.
If our Bologna Agents’ Hotlists are any indication, authors and illustrators have listened. Funny middle-grade novels and humorous fantasy are clearly the surging trend, with titles like Ele Fountain’s On Mondays, I Fight Monsters (repped by Julia Churchill at AM Heath), Eve Wersocki Morris’ Clem Fatale Has Been Upstaged (Louise Lamont, LBA), and Amy McCaw’s Ethan Wolf Is Not a Werewolf (Lauren Gardner, Bell Lomax Moreton). Crowd-pleasing, accessible romance, romantasy and “horrormance” – chock-full of “irritatingly handsome” princes, hockey players and even zombies – dominate the YA and New Adult space. There is a long road ahead for the reading crisis, but maybe in the end it will be the books themselves that lure the kids back.
REPORTING Tom Tivnan
are confirmed deals unless these are noted as being on offer, at auction or with option publishers; for entries with no rights flagged, the title has yet to be acquired in any territory.
Six of the largest global markets (UK, US, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) have deals denoted with
flags (see Rights Key, above) and list the acquiring imprint. Agents noted are primary, not translation, agents, barring a select number of instances, such as firms that specialise in foreign rights.
To participate in upcoming hotlists, email tom.tivnan@ thebookseller.com
The Agency
The Heart of the Storm
Teresa Heapy, Kate Read (illus)
Author Heapy and illustrator Read’s picture book has Ruby the fox and Growl the wolf hating each other, but when a storm tears through the forest can they find friendship?
Agent Jessica Hare World Otter-Barry, Dutch
Little Rhino Lost Candy Gourlay
“Enchanting” story showing how kindness, determination and community spirit can bring about real change and make our cities greener.
Agent Jessica Hare
World Otter-Barry, US Interlink
Room for Us All
Lu Fraser, Sarah Warburton (illus)
“Heart-warming and reassuring” book about a squirrel called Pamela who is eager to play with the other squirrels in The Big Tree. Perfect for encouraging conversations about not leaving people out.
Agent Jessica Hare
World Simon & Schuster, French
Little Urban, German Thienemann, Spanish & Catalan Blume, Danish, Dutch and eight others
The Accidental Vikings
Karen McCombie, Anneli Bray (illus)
Alfie and Kat’s school trip takes an unexpected turn when they’re whisked back to a Viking village in this exciting time-slip adventure.
Agent Jessica Hare World Barrington Stoke
Tales of the Cobb Street Commandos
Tony Bradman
Join Jimmy and his friends in action-packed adventures around the city as they raise money for Spitfire planes, train alongside soldiers and go on daring missions to meet the prime minister.
Agent Jessica Hare World Faber
Alice Williams Literary
Gus the GOAT: The Epic Escape
Clare Helen Welsh, Fiona Ross (illus)
Funny young fiction debut from the Lollies-winning picture-book author that asks the question: Is Gus the goat really the Greatest of All Time?
Agent Alice Williams World OUP
Glam and Beardy (Volume 1)
Ruby Clyde, Rachel WD, Vincent Batignole (illus)
Humorous middle-grade fantasy in a shared diary format in which Glam and her familiar, Beardy (a bearded dragon), find all is not what it seems in the five Kindoms of Kin Isle. Co-written by kids comedy duo Shelf.
Agent Alice Williams World Little Tiger
Cat School: Odd Cat Out!
Rose Robbins
First in a “delightful” new graphic-novel series for seven-plus featuring young kittens Tangle and Eno as they start cat school along with their new, neurodivergent friend Pelly.
Agent Alice Williams World Scallywag
KidCity Fire and Rescue: Never Let a Cow on a Trampoline!
JJ Costa
“Fast-paced, laugh-outloud” fire-and-rescue debut series for five-plus, set in a city run entirely by kids from a professional firefighter author.
Agent Alice Williams
Auntie Dory’s Awful Stories
James Harris
Deliciously Gothic rhyming picture-book text featuring four hilariously creepy micro bedtime stories that absolutely will not send anyone to sleep.
Agent Alice Williams
AM Heath
She Dies at Dawn Roxane de Rouen
“Blockbuster romantasy debut” in which a whipsmart, career criminal – who is “deathless” with 11 lives – is accused of assassinating the emperor. The only person who can help clear her name is the irritatingly handsome Prince Leo…
Agent Julia Churchill
UK Faber, US Henry Holt, Germany UJU, Spain Alma, Italy Casa Editrice Nord, Poland Lithuania Brazil Ukraine Serbia
The Bed That Flew Hend Qattaa, Basel Alkattaa
A brother and sister’s picture book inspired by their Gaza childhood. On a stormy night, Fareeda and Ali are scared. It is up to Mama Rasha – with her magic song and flying bed – to soothe their fears.
Agent Julia Churchill World Faber
On Mondays, I Fight Monsters Ele Fountain
Funny middle-grade fantasy in which Granny tries to convince Indy that he, like she, is from a long line of shamans who can cross into the hidden world of Mystria.
Agent Julia Churchill
My Aunt Lucie
Stephanie van den
Bergh, Aura Lewis (illus)
Narrative non-fiction picture book on the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands centred on the author’s great-aunt Lucie, a Jewish archaeologist who died with her family in Auschwitz.
Agent Julia Churchill World Hachette Children’s
When the World Ends Joanna Nadin
Middle-grade in which when the unthinkable happens to the planet, two groups of kids realise the only way to be safe is to find a place only heard about in stories.
Agent Julia Churchill UK Fox & Ink
Andlyn
Ms Giraffe’s Big Yellow House
Julie and Steve Middleton, Diogo Viegas (illus)
A “joyous” pre-school picture book “channelling the fun and vibrancy of Hey Duggee and Sesame Street” in which Ms Giraffe guides her little students through the everyday challenges of nursery, reminding us that little people have big problems too.
Agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch
The Odd Jobs of Ramble Krum
Ben Joel Price
Author/illustrator Price’s steam-punk fantasy “with a touch of Gothic Victoriana” is centred on “young scruffian” Rambly Krum, who investigates a series of thefts, but discovers they might be otherworldly…
Agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch
The Carcassar
Louis Clayton
The wicked Carcassar – an elitist tribe of animals who will stop at nothing – have come to the peaceful shores of the Hourglass. And it is Jay and Rury, two young Deyvun mice out on their first adventure, who may hold the key to the Hourglass’ survival or demise.
Agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch
Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Prankster, Gangster
Laura Caputo
When Luca’s nonna disappears without so much as an arrivederci, the 12-year-old runs to her rescue employing his prankster skills to dodge ninja nuns and uncover dark family secrets.
Agent Gyamfia Osei World English Little Tiger
The Boy Who Bought a Football Club
Kara Beecroft
When 11-year-old Henry buys his local football team for £1, he quickly learns that owning a club is harder than it looks.
Agent Gyamfia Osei
Aurelia Principessa Controvoglia e L’incantesimo della Storia Noiosa (Aurelia the Reluctant Princess and the Curse of the Tedious Tale)
Cristina Marconi ( 1), Sara Not (illus)
A princess who cherishes her quiet, boring life must embark on an accidentally exciting quest to rescue her parents.
Agent Giulia De Biase Italy Rizzoli
Noa im Nachtgebirge (Noa in the Night Mountains)
Sophie Hardach
A middle-grade debut by Costa-shortlisted author Hardach in which between wild storms, daring climbs and moments that feel almost magical, Noa discovers just how brave she can be.
ASH Literary
Katie & Kappa: The Dragon Dilemma
Hailie Kei
After accidentally opening a magical book about mythical creatures from around the world and setting them all loose, nine-year-old Katie must find and return each creature to the book.
Agent Saffron Dodd
A Little Thing Like Murder
Lauren Titmuss
YA debut thriller told from the point of view of the murderer – or is it? When Olivia kills her boyfriend’s lover, she brushes it off.
But then a rogue stick of eyeliner leads a school journalist to Olivia’s door…
Agent Alice Sutherland-Hawes UK & Commonwealth Scholastic
Treasure Rush
Ashley Thorpe
An interactive middlegrade following brothers Zac and Remy as they find themselves caught in an adventure of puzzles, which the reader also must solve.
Agent Alice Sutherland-Hawes UK & Commonwealth Usborne
Milo and the Made-Up Moon
Sophie Cameron
A “timely and touching” middle-grade novel by the award-winning author, following an astronomyloving boy’s attempts to reconnect with his mother after an online conspiracy theorist convinces her that the moon isn’t real.
Agent Paula Weiman World English Dial
Agent Sabine Pfannenstiel Austria
The Fallen Sun
CM Basma
The first in an epic fantasy duology inspired by Middle Eastern folklore and Lebanese culture, following a girl trapped on an island annexed by war who joins an underground rebellion; “for fans of Throne of Glass and Faebound”.
Agent Gyamfia Osei
UK Del Rey, US Delacorte, Italy Fazi, Ukraine
The Ash Trials
EV Woods ( 2) Dark and brooding Gothic romantasy inspired by Romeo and Juliet, “filled with betrayal, glamour and cursed magic”, following two rival witches who must team up to save everyone they love.
Agent Alice Sutherland-Hawes
UK & Commonwealth
Usborne North America
Delacorte, Germany Rowholt, options in Spain, Russia
Bath Literary Agency
Nina Krimson: How to
Be an Alien Princess
Kim Shearer, Marc Lataste
Graphic novel about 10-year-old Nina, whose life is pretty normal until an alien shows up at her door and whisks her off to the planet Emandia.
Agent Gill McLay
Lumi and the Wolf Lottie Saahko
Saahko’s middle-grade English-language debut is an animal adventure about an autistic girl who befriends an endangered wolf.
Agent Gill McLay
World Hachette, Finland
Chicken Hill
Beccy Blake
Graphic novel “with amazing early sales” about Ferdy, Gripper and Tink, who save the world from UFOs, zombie cacti and the clutches of King Frog.
Agent Gill McLay
World Bloomsbury, Finland
To Hell with You
Beth Tomlin
YA set in “a mildy rubbish version of Hell” with a sapphic romance between fallen angel Enid and Birdie, a girl who doesn’t think she deserves a second chance.
Agent Gill McLay World Penguin Random House
The Night Diary of Marcelo Rothberg Paul Westmoreland Westmoreland’s new middle-grade is about a vampire called Marcelo who has his life turned upside down by Zander, who has always wanted to be a vampire.
Agent Gill McLay
Bell Lomax Moreton
A Spell of Truth and Lies
Nadine Aisha Jassat
On a remote Scottish island, 17-year-old
Opal discovers she’s a witch just as a killer begins targeting the passengers from her arrival boat – putting her next on the list. “Practical Magic meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.”
Agent Lauren Gardner
Ethan Wolf Is Not a Werewolf
Amy McCaw ( 3)
Ethan is definitely not a werewolf… Except, he absolutely is and it’s not as much fun as you might think. First in a “yowlingly funny Amelia Fang meets Sam Wu meets Medusa Gorgon” young fiction adventure series.
Agent Lauren Gardner
Before We Fall
Chloe Seager “Thrilling” YA/crossover sapphic romance set in a world where magic and sports collide at Spellrush Academy, a school for elite magical athletes. “The Favourites meets Gwen and Art Are Not in Love.”
Agent Lauren Gardner
Sidelined
Katherine Shingler
How would you feel if your best friend was catapulted to pop superstardom, and you stayed super-ordinary?
A teen novel about “music, friendship and finding your place” loosely inspired by the relationship between Taylor Swift and her high-school friend Abigail Anderson.
Agent Lauren Gardner
The Journey Zhao Xinlei
A “lyrical” picture book about venturing away from home, in which Robin journeys to the edge of the world –and is astonished by what she finds there.
Agent Justine Smith
Bird Literary Agency
This Is the Pigeon
Ed Moss, Joshua Morgan
When a family heads off on holiday, an open window proves too tempting for one curious pigeon – who decides to invite a few friends along for the ride too. A “laugh-out-loud” tale from new picture-book team Moss and Morgan.
Agent Anwen Hooson
City Fairies:
The Magic of the City Jodie Lancet-Grant
The acclaimed author of The Pirate Mums –and Bluebird associate publisher – returns with the first in a new picturebook series centred around the City Fairies, an army of punky, urban fairies who keep the city running, and make sure new kids feel welcome.
Agent Anwen Hooson
Squawk and Squeak
Luned Aaron A “vibrant” pre-school offering that introduces different animal sounds, from the double Tir na n-Og Prize and Wales Book of the Yearwinning author/artist.
Agent Anwen Hooson
Angry Bubbles
Carys Glyn
Author, KS1 teacher and literacy specialist Glyn brings her unique voice and joyous rhymes to the story of a young boy grappling with his emotions.
Agent Anwen Hooson
The Dreadful Dead and the Happy Ending Colette Hiller
Boji, a street dog who rides Istanbul’s public transport, is accused of something… disgusting. Inspired by real events, this is the latest picture book from CLiPPAwinning writer Hiller.
Agent Anwen Hooson
The Blair Partnership
Neverland
Katie and Kevin Tsang
A “magical and modern” return to the beloved world of Neverland in association with Peter Pan rightsholders Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Agent Rachel Petty
UK & Commonwealth excluding Canada Simon & Schuster, French Gallmeister, Polish
Bad Witches Only
Rogba Payne ( 4)
The only Black girl at an elite boarding school for witches discovers that what they are taught about dark magic is not the whole story; “sassy” YA from an awardwinning fantasy author.
Agent Rachel Petty
Magic Numbers
Chelsea Tucker
A visual guide to beautiful and fascinating numbers by maths influencer Tucker.
Agent Rachel Petty
The Muddles
Tris Williams, Sam Ailey
A “hilarious” middlegrade graphic novel based on the globally bestselling card game about wacky hybrid animals, such as Pog (a pig/frog) and Wizard (a walrus/Lizard).
Agent Rachel Petty
Beast Mode
JJ Arcanjo
A fast-paced adventure about a gang of kids who can transform into wild animals, from the bestselling author of Crookhaven
Agent Rachel Petty
The Bright Agency
Smallfoot’s Big Day Out
Nikolas Ilic
Illustrator Ilic’s “longawaited” debut picture book has a baby Bigfoot setting off to find others like him. He meets a dazzling cast of mythical creatures and discovers belonging is about finding connection.
Agent Georgia Tournay-Godfrey
I Am Not a Seagull
John Condon
The first in a laugh-outloud series from Condon, in which a seaside bird protests far too much in a picture book about chips, cheek and the world’s least convincing denials.
Agent Georgia Tournay-Godfrey
In the Swimming Pool
Daisy Johnson, Tom de Freston (illus) Booker shortlistee Johnson makes a picture-book debut with illustrator de Freston in a story imagining the enormous courage it might take a child to come into this world and how our courage grows when we are around others.
Agent Paul Black
The Octavia Trilogy: Battle of the Mariana Trench
Carina Saner
A middle-grade fantasy in which 12-year-old Sophie rescues a giant octopus and is drawn into a hidden world of underwater marine kingdoms. As her beloved grandfather’s dementia deepens, Sophie must hold fast to their bond –and find the courage to face the darkness rising from the Mariana Trench.
Agent Georgia Tournay-Godfrey
The Collector Reshu Singh Singh’s author-illustrator picture-book debut holds up a mirror to busy adults and celebrates, through wisdom and wit, what children can teach us about being present.
Agent Susan Penny
CAA
Unrecovered
Hannah Schneider
Josie Palmer’s older brother has died, she’s failed to graduate high school, her house is way too quiet and, annoyingly, her brother’s best friend continues to be very hot.
Agent Mollie Glick US Wednesday
Anger Is Only a Shadow Elizabeth Acevedo
Seventeen-year-old
Lil is just out of juvenile detention and she’s trying really hard to be New Lil. But when the deafening silence from her beloved older brother Aldwin away at college turns to something more alarming, can she get to him without putting her future on the line?
Agent Alexandra Machinist
UK Hot Key, US Quill Tree, Slovene
Dasia (Forever)
Nic Stone
During one life-changing night on a leukaemia ward, two girls who are at their lowest fight to keep one another uplifted.
Agent Mollie Glick US Crown
Deadly Little Lessons
Danielle Valentine “Squid Game meets boarding school” in a YA thriller set at an experimental school where only five students will be allowed to graduate.
Agent Hillary Jacobson
US Putnam, Spanish & Catalan Planeta
What If You Could
Jacinda Ardern
The former prime minister of New Zealand’s guide for teens on chasing your dreams and embracing the qualities that truly make a person strong.
Agents Mollie Glick, David Larabell
UK Macmillan Children’s, US Philomel, Australia & New Zealand
Chiara Tognetti Rights Agency
Who’s Really Different
Carolina D’Angelo, Martina Peluso (illus)
Italian author D’Angelo and illustrator Peluso’s
Odd Socks Day-inspired picture book “turns a common domestic sockdisappearance mystery into a celebration of friendship and inclusion” in the journey of lonely, mismatched socks.
Agent Chiara Tognetti Korean
Lipazù
Michele Peroncini
A “polished” picture book/early-reader title, pairing elegant illustrations with a cinematic adventure as a zoo-kept monster escapes his cage, thwarts a robbery, tastes glory and finally answers the call of the wild.
Agent Chiara Tognetti French
Someone to Save
M Beatrice Masella
A “luminous” summer camp coming-of-age story that delicately explores bullying, identity, family and loss in a setting in which friendship, courage and a spark of love can change everything.
Agent Chiara Tognetti
Sticker
Kim Sun-Mi
A Korean bestselling speculative YA in which Yoma’s black-market curses were meant as easy money, but when they actually begin to summon disasters she –with a help of a boy who can undo her work – must confront the darkness she has unleashed.
Agent Chiara Tognetti Spanish, Russian
Melanin
Ha Seung-min
Compelling and powerful literary YA. A boy born with blue skin and separated from his family travels from Seoul to the US and across the world, searching for the mother and brother he lost.
Agent Chiara Tognetti
Children’s Books North Agency
The Wishing Bear
Rosalind Beardshaw
A gloriously original, heart-warming picture book about a girl and a fox, and the love, loss and stars above us, written and illustrated by an award-winning and bestselling creator.
Agent Emma Layfield
Dim Sum Valley
Belinda Chen ( 5)
Meet the little Dim Sums in a new novelty book series steeped in East and South East Asian roots with fun interaction and worldbuilding characters.
Agent Emma Layfield
Stories of Caribbean Folktales, Myths and Legends
Lucy Farfort
A vibrant compendium of 10 Caribbean folktales, myths and legends for children aged five to eight, written and illustrated by a FAB Prize winner.
Agent Emma Layfield
Backstage at the Theatre
Gill Smith
Award-winning author/ illustrator Smith’s backstage-pass gift book for kids to discover a world of wonders at the theatre, from costumes to secret sets.
Agent Emma Layfield
Terrible Tempest
Emma Whitehall
“Hilarious” middle-grade series about Princess Tempest (“Pest”) who causes carnage when she steals some Dragoessence, by the Ida Finn series and Heretical author, who is also a children’s bookseller at the bound in Whitley Bay.
Agent Emma Layfield
Colwill & Peddle
Showstopper
Tom Ramsay ( 6)
A joyous, queer YA romance set in the dramatic world of musical theatre: “Heartstopper meets Glee.”
Agent Charlotte Colwill UK & Commonwealth Firefly
Wishbound
Clemency Brown
High-concept, middlegrade fantasy adventure. A girl must escape her fate to be bound as a genie for all eternity; first in a series.
Agent Charlotte Colwill World Chicken House
Sherlock & You
Andrew Lane
Contemporary, solvealong middle-grade adventure featuring Sherlock Holmes’ greatgreat-nephew, from the bestselling author of the Young Sherlock series.
Agent Charlotte Colwill German, Polish, simplified Chinese
Young Moriarty
Andrew Lane
A “thrilling” villain-origin story and companion middle-grade series to the bestselling Young Sherlock books, recently adapted into a Guy Ritchie-directed Amazon Prime Video series.
Agent Charlotte Colwill
Creative Roots Studio
Next!
Sue Newton ( 7)
Deadpan picture book about a penguin who thinks he would make the perfect tooth fairy (obviously). But will he get the job?
Agent Rachael Davis-Featherstone
Do Not Bounce!
Tracy Bullock
If you had the bounciest bed in the world, would you be able to resist bouncing on it? A “chaos-building picture book full of fun”.
Agent Rachael Davis-Featherstone
Listen Up, Larry Sue Meikle
Highly child-friendly picture book about the perils of not listening, told with a healthy dollop of dry humour.
Agent Fiz Osborne
Journey to Evergreen Forest
Alice Hemming
Animal-led middlegrade quest “and future modern classic” following a brave group of animals who embark on a daring journey to find a new home.
Agent Fiz Osborne
From the Dust We Rise
Kimberly Pauley Torn from her parents, taken to the city she loathes, trained to raze the whole place to the ground… Power struggles and rebellion compete in this YA dystopian “romantasci-fi”.
Agent Fiz Osborne
Curtis Brown
Les Mouskaters (The Muskaters)
Théo Kotenka, Helsenn (illus)
Illustrated middle-grade four-book series that is a loose retelling of the Alexandre Dumas novels: get ready to meet tween modern-day musketeers on skateboards.
Agent Roxane Edouard French Under offer
Hate-toi Quand la Nuit
Vient (As the Night Comes)
Marie Pavlenko “Powerful” YA from Pavlenko set in a world ruled by fascists where water is scarce and heat is stifling, Jane tries to live an ordinary life and dreams of another, better place. Then, Roman arrives at school…
Agent Roxane Edouard French Flammarion Jeunesse
The Shadow Six
Kelly Smith
When an “illegal soul shadow panther” named Six appears on inspection day at Stalebourne Boarding School, 12-yearold Myrtle Rainwater’s carefully ordered life begins to unravel.
Agents Natalie Beckett, Gwen Beal
World excluding North America Puffin North America Aladdin
La Folle Fabule des Soeurs
Tresor (The Tall Tale of the Treasure Sisters)
Siècle Vaëlban, Noëmie Chevalier (illus)
A double picture book set in a whimsical magical world telling the stories of twin sisters separated after an unfortunate encounter with a herd of red-spotted unicorns.
Agent Roxane Edouard French Casterman
Front Desk
Kelly Yang
Graphic-novel adaptation of Yang’s bestselling Front Desk series featuring 10-year-old Mia Tang, who manages the front desk of a motel.
Agent Steph Thwaites UK Under offer
Darley Anderson Children’s
Where the Flowers Feed
Olivia Levez
An original, moving YA “horrormance” in which Larry finds love, death and those that live beyond it at a community farm heavy with the scent of flowers – and big secrets.
Agent Clare Wallace UK & Commonwealth Hot Key
Last Orders at the Full Moon Diner
Karen Nguyen
Uplifting New Adult debut in which Noel runs a magical diner but her only customers are souls who have one meal left to enjoy on earth. She has never had a returning customer – until Evander.
Agent Becca Langton
UK & Commonwealth, North American under offer
Our Countless Lives
Alice Ross YA speculative queer romance that has Christopher searching the multiverse for his dad, but he will have to choose between the safety of his past and the promise of an infinite future with the boy he loves.
Agents Becca Langton, Lucy Irvine
Cherry Sky
Josh Silver
The award-winner’s fourth YA thriller has Joe thinking his mind is not his friend, as it cost his twin brother’s life. He wants to be fixed. The Cherry Sky program promises to give him that second chance…
Agent Clare Wallace
UK & Commonwealth Rock the Boat, options in German, Italian, Czech, Polish
The Secret Lamb of Aberfan
Alyson Williams Williams’ middle-grade debut is centred on a young girl who finds friendship and healing in an orphaned lamb after an unthinkable tragedy rocks her community.
Agent Lucy Irvine UK & Commonwealth Firefly
Block out your calendars! This autumn sees the advent of a new approach to LEGO® Fiction. Joining forces with DK flip, DK’s children’s fiction imprint, these playful stories will reach fans in every reading category through big-name author and illustrator collaborations and brand new formats. Here’s a flavour of what’s to come…
ORIGINAL LEGO® FICTION
Nikolas Nurdblok and the Lost Brick by
Jeffrey Brown
Nikolas Nurdblok is the youngest child in a family of famous adventurers who search for lost pieces and instructions and things. Now it is time for Nik to join the rest of his family for his FIRST ADVENTURE.
The problem is that Nik’s family don’t appreciate his genius. After a couple of mishaps that definitely weren’t Nik’s fault, his family set off to find a legendary LOST BRICK but leave him at home.
Nik decides he’s going anyway. His mum and dad didn’t say he couldn’t go –they just said he couldn’t go with them. And so, Nik and his loyal best friend Knute embark on an adventure that will (probably) change the world. OBVIOUSLY Nik can find the lost brick by himself and doesn’t need anyone else there … or does he?
Coming November 2026
B-format HB ⁄ 176 pages ⁄ 198 x 129 mm ⁄ £10.99 ⁄ ISBN 9780241809563
STORY BUILDERS
AGES 7-9
Made in collaboration with Working Partners, the creative powerhouse behind Warriors, Rainbow Magic and Beast Quest, these new middle grade fiction titles are brand new stories in the world’s of some of LEGO’s best-loved IPs, complete with a minifigure and bricks, in a world-first format.
Coming October 2026
HB with exclusive minifigure and elements ⁄ 128 pages ⁄ 200 x 135 mm ⁄ £12.99
AGES 7+
CHAPTER BOOKS
ALL NEW LEGO® FICTION INCOMING WITH MUCH MORE NEW LEGO FICTION TO COME
AGES 5-7
These full-colour early chapter books are fun, graphic and super accessible, beautifully brought to life by world-class illustrators James Lancett and Sam Filstrup. Each features favourite characters – Dragons! Mechs! Ninja! Animals! – and theme obsessions – Stunts! Gaming! Food! Quests! – across beloved LEGO properties for maximum collectibility.
Coming November 2026 PB ⁄ 128 pages ⁄ 200 x 135 mm ⁄ £6.99
David Higham Associates
Normal, Definitely
Camilla Chester
Heartwarming middle-grade in which 10-year-old January sees herself reflected in an unwanted dog, so is determined to find a home. No matter what the autism test shows, she and the dog are normal, definitely.
Agent Veronique Baxter World Firefly
Wayfinder:
The Guardians of the Sea
Jonathan Stroud
The Lockwood & Co bestseller’s newest middle-grade fantasy series kicks off with 14-year-old Ava setting off to begin her Wayfinder training at the Lightkeeper’s legendary tower – but challenges and danger await.
Agent Veronique Baxter UK
Bloomsbury Children’s
Treason Castle
Julia Golding
An And Then There
Were None meets The Mysterious Benedict Society middle-grade mystery inspired by reality TV sensation The Traitors.
Agent Molly Ker Hawn UK Usborne
The Café at the End of the World
Helen Comerford
The Pumpkin Spice Café meets Good Omens in the YA cosy romance/ supernatural mash-up
“you didn’t know you needed: come for the cinnamon rolls and stay for the apocalypse”.
Agent Christabel McKinley UK Bloomsbury
Wolfboy
BN King
Heartfelt coming-of-age fantasy about a teenage werewolf at a remote English boarding school, set against the backdrop of friendship, queer love and unexplained magic.
Agent Veronique Baxter
UK Penguin Michael Joseph, Spanish
Eve
White
Literary Agency
Not Going to Plan
Tia Fisher
Fisher returns with a Carnegie-shortlisted, taboo-busting narrative YA verse novel about consent, gender identity and shame.
Agent Eve White World Hot Key
Cecily Sawyer: How to Crack a Code Iona Rangeley
A thrilling, mysterious and “very, very funny” new adventure from the award-winning author of Einstein the Penguin
Agent Eve White World
HarperCollins Children’s
It’s for Your Own Good
Kate Francis
At a grim wilderness therapy camp, campers and counsellors start to get picked off, curiously mirroring last night’s game of Werewolf…
Agent Ludo Cinelli
UK Usborne, US Sourcebooks
Grow Your Own Way: Your Body, Your Mind and You Sarah Ockwell-Smith
A comprehensive and engaging puberty guidebook for tweens from the innovative founder of the gentle parenting movement.
Agent Eve White World Wren & Rook
Kid Rex to the Rescue
Mayo Agard-Olubo ( 8), Diane Ewen (illus)
Household chores are reimagined as daring superhero adventures in this thrilling and dynamic debut picture-book series.
Agent Ludo Cinelli World
Hachette Children’s
Gemma Cooper
Literary
The Lost Zoo
Will Csaklos, Marc Louria
A middle-grade animal quest blending thrilling adventure with a heartfelt story of hope; an odyssey of those displaced by conflict, who dare to dream of a better world.
Agent Gemma Cooper
Questers Academy:
The Box of Locks
Sam Hay
Middle-grade adventure fantasy in which an 11-year-old boy must solve a series of clues in a bid to save London from being destroyed.
Agent Gemma Cooper
World English Firefly, UK & Commonwealth audio WF Howes
The League of Dangerous Young Ladies
JA Morgenstein A YA fantasy adventure following the adventures of Professor Moriarty’s daughter and her friends as they battle vampires and demons in a race to save the world.
Agent Gemma Cooper
World Sourcebooks, Italy Mondadori
Nightmare League
Reece Carter
A middle-grade fantasy adventure in which an 11-year-old boy joins a covert agency of kid spies that secretly defend the world against a growing threat of night-time monsters.
Agent Gemma Cooper US Penguin Workshop, Australia and New Zealand, Danish under offer
The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away Sophie Anderson
The sequel to the bestselling and awardwinning The House with Chicken Legs, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and sold in 25 languages.
Agent Gemma Cooper
UK Usborne, US Scholastic, Italian Rizzoli, simplified Chinese Portuguese Turkish
Greyhound Literary
Class Pets: Snack Attack! Beach
Picture-book star
Beach’s first in a “riotous” new young graphic-novel series “for fans of The Secret Life of Pets and Bunny vs Monkey”.
Agent Charlotte Atyeo World Simon & Schuster Children’s
When Tad Kicked Vlad Julian Gough, Ross Collins (illus) Whip-smart story about a circle of violence and how it finally gets broken, from the bestselling Rabbit & Bear series author.
Agent Charlie Campbell World Faber
Who Said Poo? Saskia Gwinn, Paul Nicholls (illus) “Hilariously funny” picture book about animal poos and the wildly imaginative names that their “creators” have given them.
Agent Charlotte Atyeo World Farshore
Birdlands Anthony McGowan, Keith Robinson (illus)
A “Dogs of the Deadlands-esque” thrilling and heartbreaking middle-grade from Carnegie-winner McGowan, in which three birds leave the city, looking for a place they can call home.
Agent Charlie Campbell World Rock the Boat
The Deep Dark Ocean Helen Scales, Ana Miminoshvili (illus) The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction-shortlisted marine biologist’s look at the ocean’s most remarkable animals – such as ghostly octopuses, Elvis worms and ninja lanternsharks – aimed at ages seven-plus.
Agent Charlotte Atyeo World Thames & Hudson
International Creative Agency
Free Mum
Nathan Bryon
The middle-grade debut from the award-winning picture-book author: a comedy heist adventure starring Dexter and his school choir as they attempt to break his mum out of prison.
Agent Sallyanne Sweeney UK & Commonwealth Puffin
Pocket Pets
Sarah Ann Juckes
A young fiction series full of sparkling magic and tiny friendship… What pet will you find in your pocket next?
Agent Sallyanne Sweeney World Macmillan’s Children’s Nell and the Troll of London Bridge Allison Rushby Whimsical, charming historical fantasy for middle-grade reads set in 1663: “The Thing About Giants meets Shrek.”
Agent Sallyanne Sweeney
Pearl Beach
Beth Steiner
A teenage girl’s summer of change unexpectedly deepens into a transformative bond with her great-aunt Edith.
Agent Sallyanne Sweeney World Pushkin Children’s
Glass
Gráinne O’Brien ( 9)
A “glass child” turns to poetry to process the grief and invisibility of growing up in her brother’s shadow, while he struggles with addiction.
Agent Sallyanne Sweeney World Little Island
Kate Nash Agency
Lie or Die
AJ Clack
“The Traitors meets Squid Game” in this award-winning YA thriller (optioned for film) in which a murder-mystery reality TV show turns deadly when the contestants start dying for real.
Agent Saskia Leach
World English excluding Canada Firefly, German Fischer, Film
Zombies to Lovers
Lara Slabber
Secret zombie Rae must turn to her sworn enemy to keep her zombie status hidden and solve her own murder in this queer enemies-tolovers romance – “think Casey McQuiston but with zombies”.
Agent Saskia Leach
Deepfake Friend
Daisy Jervis
“Gossip Girl meets Black Mirror” in a YA novel in which a student uses AI deepfake voice mimicry to impersonate her classmates and uncover liars, only for it to end in murder…
Agent Saskia Leach
Supers
Maggie Womersley
Mae can recognise the face of every person she’s ever seen, except the one that matters most: her sister’s killer.
Agent Saskia Leach
Plan B
Nell Griffin
Amy’s summer of freedom goes horribly wrong when she realises she might be pregnant – by her best friend’s ex, no less. “For fans of Louise Rennison and Jacqueline Wilson.”
Agent Saskia Leach
Planeta
Lindsay Literary
The Snowflake Diaries
Antonia Michel
When rebellious 15-year-old Annabel’s transgressions reach fever pitch, she is banished to a tiny mountainous town in Austria… but it might just turn out to be the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
“Think Geek Girl meets Louise Rennison.”
Agent Becky Bagnell
And Now We Run
Nicola Penfold ( 10)
The Where the World Turns Wild author’s newest has Jelly taking her first school trip when extreme weather causes the reservoirs to burst.
Separated from the group, she and Lincoln must put aside their fears to outrun the storm.
Agent Becky Bagnell World English Little Tiger
Luigi Bonomi Associates
This Divine Revelry
Bea Fitzgerald
The last of a quartet of mythology re-imaginings is the Ariadne and Dionysus story, retold by the TikTok superstar and bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen
Agent Hannah Schofield World Penguin
Heartbreak Geeks
Anam Iqbal
“Jenny Han meets Maxton Hall” as the golden boy and the scholarship kid vie for top of the year at an elite London private school – but will their burgeoning feelings disrupt their academic rivalry?
Agent Hannah Schofield UK & Commonwealth Penguin
Diary of a Dreadful Dragon
Ben Miller ( 11)
Actor and bestselling middle-grade author Miller’s latest features naughty dragon Malc, who loves stealing other people’s treasures. But when he starts making new friends, stealing begins to lose its sparkle…
Agent Luigi Bonomi World English Simon & Schuster
Clem Fatale Has Been Upstaged
Eve Wersocki Morris, Honie Beam (illus)
Madeleine Milburn Agency
How to Steal a Dragon
AM Croll
YA fantasy about a dragon heist with a romantic thread, “for fans of A Language of Dragons and Six of Crows”.
Agent Maddy Belton
UK & Commonwealth Puffin, North American HarperCollins Children’s, French Bayard, German Fischer Sauerländer, Italian Mondadori
The Obedience Trials
Macy Leyon
A dystopian thriller with a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc, about misogyny, spectacle, public image and the policing of women’s bodies.
Agent Chloe Seager
The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks
Katie Kirby ( 12)
The new, hilarious title in the acclaimed Lottie Brooks series, which has now sold more than two million units worldwide.
Agent Chloe Seager
UK & Commonwealth Puffin, North American Random House, Dutch, Estonian, Norwegian, Polish EU Portuguese options in 24 further territories
Meet Me in Another Life
Kara A Kennedy
A new illustrated adventure for young gangster Clem and her best friend Gilbert as they race around the city to solve the disappearance of a glamorous singer.
“Hijinks, hilarity and mortal danger” ensue.
Agent Louise Lamont World English Little Tiger
The Christmas Book
Katherine Woodfine, Lizzy Stewart (illus)
Inspired by the Icelandic tradition of jolabokaflod, Woodfine and illustrator Stewart’s “stunning” tale of a boy on a snowy quest to find the perfect Christmas gift for his family is a future classic.
Agent Louise Lamont World Faber
Marjacq Scripts
A Clean Kill
BV Pearce
Invisible in her cleaner’s uniform, brilliant scholarship girl Sabrina discovers all her classmates’ dirty little secrets. But when rugby star Chase is murdered, she must use all her skills to find the killer before she ends up the next victim. “Perfect for fans of The Housemaid and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.”
Agent Catherine Pellegrino World Tempest
The Marsh Agency
The Princess Diaries
Graphic Novel
Meg Cabot ( 13), Bethany Crandall (illus)
Illustrator Crandall joins Cabot in adapting the author’s international bestselling modern classic as a graphic novel.
Agent On behalf of Laura Langlie
UK Macmillan Children’s, US & Canada HarperAlley
Detective Baby:
Dance Team Drama
Meg Cabot
Paper Literary
From the Clear Blue Sky
Jackie Akiko Cloud ( 14)
A coming-of-age story
“for readers of John Green”, inspired by the author’s experience of losing her father in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The novel follows Ami, who was five when her father died in the Twin Towers. Ten years on, she attends a memorial unveiling and believes she glimpses her father in the crowd. Wondering whether he might have survived, she teams up with her high school’s golden boy to find out the truth.
YA horror romance that blends “the dark academia of Ava Reid’s A Study in Drowning with the star-crossed love of Our Infinite Fates and the parallel dimensions of Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Agent Chloe Seager North American Delacorte
Wildheart
Bec Manser
Epic middle-grade fantasy about sisterly bonds and discovering the right environment to grow into your true self, “for fans of Greenwild and The Whisperwicks”.
Agent Chloe Seager
UK & Commonwealth PRH Children’s
A graphic novel combining elements of mystery, adventure and humour following Jenny, a babysitter who can understand baby talk, and clever detective Rosie. Together, they must solve a mystery involving stolen money raised for a dance team.
Agent On behalf of Laura Langlie US & Canada HarperAlley
The Magic We Made
Meg Cabot
She doesn’t believe in magic. He is magic. But when they meet, “a spark is lit, and neither will ever be the same”.
A standalone set in Cabot’s Witches of West Harbor universe.
Agent On behalf of Laura Langlie
UK Piatkus, North America
William Morrow
Agent Catherine Cho
Evil Korean Beauty
David Yi
Beauty journalist and entrepreneur Yi’s “high-camp” YA horror novel, set in the world of K-beauty and influencing. When a Korean-American teenager learns that his mother was murdered by a powerful witch who owns the biggest K-beauty conglomerate in the world, he sets out to infiltrate an exclusive influencer retreat in order to exact his revenge…
Agent Catherine Cho
DAVID REISS
PFD
Raising Hare
Chloe Dalton ( 15)
Middle-grade adaptation of Dalton’s bestselling, Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlisted story of an unexpected relationship with a wild hare that she rescued.
Agent Caroline Michel
UK Canongate, US PRH
A Heist Before Bedtime
Reverend Richard Coles
The pop star, vicar and crime novelist’s “hilarious” middle-grade collection of true stories of some of the most peculiar crimes of all time.
Agent Tim Bates UK Wren & Rook
The Night I
Borrowed Time
Iqbal Hussain
A family love story with a time-travel twist, as Zubair discovers his ability to revisit events from the past, which he uses to try to “fix” his family.
Agent Silvia Molteni
UK Puffin Press, German Thienemann
The Clamour of Flights:
The Stormbreaker Nell Pfeiffer
YA fantasy set in a world divided by the deadly storm. Determined to restore her family’s name, Mia soon realises she has to choose between revenge and freedom…
Agent Alice Caprio French Gulf Stream, Canadian French Éditions de l’Homme
The Devil’s Secret Recipe Yeong-Jeong
YA in which a mysterious restaurant called Devil’s Recipe opens in a quiet neighbourhood, run by a 16-year-old Demon – and his talking crow –who collect and feed on negative human emotions through delicious recipes.
Agent Silvia Molteni with Shinwon Agency
French Albin
Michel Jeunesse, Korean, Russian, Taiwanese
Pickled Ink
A Girl’s Guide to Being a Boy
Dee Stevens
Debut queer-joy YA comedy, the first in a series, about a 15-yearold trans girl stumbling through life, and falling in love, at an all-boys school. Told in a sharp, funny first-person voice: “Geek Girl meets Heartstopper.”
Agent Helen Boyle
Moon Rage
KC Collinson
Debut YA fantasy set in a Scottish-folkloreinspired world, where a young girl must tame a mythical sea-dragon to save her family from destitution; “The Scorpio Races meets Outlander”.
Agent Helen Boyle
The Missing Piece of Davy Larkin
Kate Wilkinson
Stand-alone middlegrade adventure about a mudlarking boy’s search for his long-lost twin, set along the banks of a fictional river. “Rooftoppers meets Hidden Treasure.”
Agent Helen Boyle
Slow Down Sprite
Melissa Castrillón
Award-winner Castrillón’s newest picture book is set in a richly imagined woodland world, where a tiny sprite learns that to care for those she loves she must first look after herself.
Agent Helen Boyle
High Vis Vincent
Laura K Sayers
Author-illustrator
Sayers’ picture book is about a bear who rebels against his dull job of painting road signs – a playful ode to creative freedom and expression, depicted in distinctive papercut illustrations.
Agent Helen Boyle
The Plum Agency
Rainbow Lion
Jessie James, Anna Süßbauer
For all children, and all children who might grow up LGBTQ+, this gorgeous picture book sees a little lion with a rainbow mane find his lost colours again.
Agent Hannah Whitty
Come with Casper
Tim Budgen
Come with Casper and his magical backpack on a new adventure in this joyful, characterled, preschool picture book series from debut author and established illustrator Budgen.
Agent Hannah Whitty
When Dragon Lost His Roar
Paula Bowles
A remarkable, empowering picture book for families navigating serious illness and uncertainty, from The British Book Awards 2025 shortlistee.
Agent Hannah Whitty
The Heart of Tanglewood Jonny Lambert Lambert’s “luminous” picture book has three determined friends help a forest spirit find his lost heart.
Agent Hannah Whitty
Like Stars in Sky
Jessie James, Brendan Kearney
A vibrant picturebook exploration of neurodivergent hyperfocus, in which a little cat’s obsession with the stars helps her to achieve her goals. But something is missing –can the constellations offer a clue?
Agent Hannah Whitty
RCW
Sharpest Court
Kiera Azar ( 16)
Azar’s sequel to fantasy Thorn Season is filled with “court intrigue, heart-racing action, a unique magic system and sizzling chemistry”.
Agent Claire Wilson
UK Harper Fire US HarperCollins, France Germany Italy Spain Catalan, Brazil, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine
The Dragon and the Dove Catherine Doyle Third in Doyle’s enemiesto-lovers romantasy series in which Sera and the newly sainted Ransom find themselves divided by their diverging destinies.
Agent Claire Wilson
UK & US Simon & Schuster, France Germany Italy Spain, Netherlands Brazil Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine
Name Taker
Melissa Hawkes
In Hawkes’ debut crossover fantasy, a girl forced to serve as the God of Death’s assassin must win back her soul – before forbidden love costs her everything.
Agent Safae El-Ouahabi
The Neverfear
Katherine Rundell
The superstar’s third in her Impossible Creatures series, set in the magical world of the Archipelago.
Agent Claire Wilson
UK Bloomsbury, US Knopf, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway Poland Portugal Russia Serbia Slovenia Sweden Turkey
Sweet Hunger
Katherine Webber
In the first of Webber’s series of reimagined
YA fairytales, Hansel returns to the witch’s house 10 years on to find her beautiful, beguiling and set on his heart.
Agent Claire Wilson UK Farshore
Red Kite Literary
It’s What’s Inside
That Counts
Ruby Amy Thompson ( 17) Witty counting book based on wordplay from the author/illustrator of Rock and Roll
Agent Enrichetta Frezzato
They Call Me Mayhem
JJ Moore
Hysterically funny, “delightfully Pratchett-y” middle-grade debut about a young witch’s quest to be The Best.
Agent Enrichetta Frezzato
The Mythfits Gianna Pollero
At the Dead-End Diner, a ragtag team of outcasts guards a mythical land’s only entrance… the fridge. Cosy, funny, magical middle-grade novel by the author of the Monster Doughnut series.
Agent Enrichetta Frezzato
Don’t Let Dylan Die Joanna Hilton
When Lennie’s family lose their home, old Mrs Gottlieb offers them her manor house… for as long as its resident cat is alive! But the house is also rumoured to hide a treasure. Can Lennie solve the clues to uncover it and ensure no cats are harmed in the process?
Agent Enrichetta Frezzato
The Day the Monster Gods Arrived
Sebastian Georgiou
After being trapped for centuries, the Actuadorian Monster Gods are back and seeking revenge. With the help of a mysterious girl with no memories, 13-year-old Hector is the only one who can stop them.
Rich Lit Rights
The Ribbon Tessa Blackham
A young ballet dancer first finds courage in a gifted red ribbon until she can, at last, realise it in herself in this debut authorillustrated picture book.
Agent Rich Lit on behalf of LK Literary US Atheneum
Poochie Pete and His Very Big Feet
Dougie Payne, Rachel Seago (illus)
The debut picture book from Payne, from the Scottish indie band Travis, is a fabulous rhyming tale “full of heart, with themes of individuality, creativity, friendship, bravery and joy”.
Agent Rich Lit on behalf of Little Door UK Little Door
Wilderness Hacks
Joslin Brorsen
“Hatchet meets Survivor” in a dual POV, highaction, humour-filled, middle-grade adventure about two kids stranded in the wilderness who cannot stand each other.
Agent Rich Lit on behalf of LK Literary US Knopf
I Feel Your Pain
AM Ellis
“Noughts & Crosses
meets This Mortal Coil” in a gripping YA dystopiaromance set in a future where pain is transferable but comes at a high cost.
Agent Rich Lit on behalf of Storymix UK Puffin
Us in the Bright Lights
Zanni Arnot
Contemporary, comingof-age YA novel “in the vein of Morgan Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone meets Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere”.
Agent Rich Lit on behalf of LK Literary Australia and New Zealand
The Shaw Agency
Ghost Bros
Nicky Smith-Dale
First in an anarchic, laugh-out-loud comedy
“for fans of The 13-Storey Treehouse” about a mismatched pair of ghost brothers who cannot agree on anything, least of all throwing a party.
Agent Kate Shaw
Retroheist
AM Primmer
A David vs Goliath adventure thriller, with big laughs and pacy plot, about a bunch of 12-year-olds attempting to expose the secrets of a dodgy tech company using only low-tech.
Agent Kate Shaw
The Library of Lost Stories
Eloise Williams
The former Welsh Children’s Laureate’s uplifting middlegrade about the joy of community and the power of stories, as 10-year-old Noni wants to revive the library van in her village, which was last driven to the Aberfan disaster a decade earlier.
Agent Kate Shaw
UK & Commonwealth Firefly
Python: The New Recruit
SJ Wills
The Bite Risk author’s newest is a spy thriller about a group of teens recruited to Python, a top secret government agency targeting the criminal underworld. First in a three-book deal.
Agent Kate Shaw
World
Simon & Schuster
The Spellcrafter
James Nicol
Queer YA love story set in a magical version of 1950s Britain in which heartbroken Kit is sent to work at Spellman’s Department Store. Can he unlock his nascent powers, uncover a treacherous plot and discover whom he truly loves?
Agent Kate Shaw
The Soho Agency
The Undead Hero Brigade
Meg Small
Middle-grade horrorfantasy. Hunting down the monster who left her for dead in the cold, Lyre falls in with a band of necromancers, spooks and ghouls – who are on the same monster’s tail.
Agent Lydia Silver UK & Commonwealth HarperCollins Children’s
Matcha and Adzuki
Save the World Nene Lonergan ( 18)
Boba-shop employees by day, magical heroines by night, Matcha and Adzuki team up to save the world from rampaging coffee monsters in a graphic novel “for lovers of Sailor Moon and Winx Club”.
Agent Lydia Silver
A Storm of Swallows
SF Williamson
The epic conclusion to the bestselling
A Language of Dragons trilogy has Vivian forced to face down Bulgaria’s strongest dragon.
Agent Lydia Silver
UK & Commonwealth Harper Fire, US HarperCollins, options in German, Italian, Dutch and 21 other languages
Nightcurse
Emma Hinds
Gothic mystery and enemies-to-lovers
romance set in a magical library where Emrys Swift, dead for 157 years, is pulled into a quest by an attractive shapeshifter.
Agent Lydia Silver
UK & Commonwealth Usborne, US Wednesday
Floodbringer
Sadie Turner
The second in Turner’s Tidespeaker duology. Corith is thrown back in with the boy she left behind, and they must take on the nation’s dangerous noble families.
Agent Marina de Pass
UK & Commonwealth Oneworld, UK & Commonwealth audio Bolinda, North America PRH USA
Spring Literary
Albert: The Diaries of a Cabin Boy
Sam Usher
An adventurous, hilarious and highly illustrated 18th-century-set story of young servant Albert, who is kidnapped and made a ship’s cabin boy. Battles, treasure, secret messages and explosions ensue in the first of a series.
Agent Neil Dunnicliffe
Dr Necroptic’s
Abomination
Ross Collins
A scary and funny illustrated novel from award-winner and bestseller Collins in which Lois and her brother Dev meet appalling scientist Dr Necroptic. When they discover he is going to create a giant chimera, can they stop him and save the world?
Agent Neil Dunnicliffe
Ishka and the Whale Flora Delargy
The first picture book from the Rescuing Titanic creator has a young girl befriending a whale while on a fishing trip with her grandfather.
Agent Neil Dunnicliffe
A Forest of Stars
Emma Carlisle
A “gorgeous” picture book from the creator of What Do You See When You Look at a Tree? and A Home Is a Nest. What happens when a star falls into the forest? Can a plucky bear place it back in the sky?
Agent Neil Dunnicliffe
Otellie and the Crocodile Matthew Hodson
From the creator of the hotly contested Michael Dog comes a hilarious picture book about a very hungry crocodile - and Otellie’s attempts to save herself from being eaten.
Agent Neil Dunnicliffe
Storymix
The Lost Name Society
Savita Kalhan (as SR Krish)
Teen novel in which Andy signs his boarding school’s ancient charter with his anglicised name – instead of his real one – and is one of only five students left untouched as a demonic force turns students into deadly competitors.
Agent Jasmine Richards UK Fox & Ink
The Other Father Christmas
Serena Holly
The Nibbies-shortlisted seven-plus story has Santa announcing his retirement and Mikey nominating his grandfather for the job. But first they must conquer extraordinary challenges to prove Gramps can be the next Father Christmas.
Agent Jasmine Richards UK Storymix
Dead Yard
PJ Killburn
Middle-grade that has Jermaine accidentally eating food intended for the spirit of his deceased great-great-uncle at a Caribbean wake – and ending up haunted by one very angry ancestor.
Agent Jasmine Richards UK Little Tiger
Riya Mallick Is (Not) Immortal Debasmita Dasgupta (as Sakhi Mura)
When her family’s subscription to the supernatural expires and they crash-land in an English village, Victorian girl Riya must do the unthinkable: find a way to make this new place feel like home.
Agent Jasmine Richards
A Field Guide to Finding Magic
Gita Ralleigh
Middle-grade in which city kid Kam is dreading a summer in the countryside until he meets new friends and Shug, a mythical creature only he can see.
Agent Jasmine Richards
Susanna Lea Associates
The Secret Society of Hidden Postboxes
Alex Bell
Eliza Poppleton joins a secret society known as the Night Mail that delivers post to magical worlds. She quickly discovers a criminal plot – not just against the Night Mail but the Goblin King himself.
Agent Thérèse Coen World English Faber
Wolf Queen
Esther White
An assassinated, resurrected and imprisoned princess enters an arranged marriage with the prince of the country she suspects murdered her. She is hellbent on revenge – until her heart gets in the way.
Agent Thérèse Coen
Perfect Sense
Christine Pillainayagam
A “smart, modern, feminist continuation” of Sense and Sensibility, focusing on Margaret Dashwood if she lived today, was the daughter of a Sri Lankan immigrant, had accidentally set fire to her school’s chemistry lab and was now being sent to boarding school.
Agent Thérèse Coen UK & Commonwealth Macmillan
Belly Bugs
David Bell, Martin Smith
Belly Bugs (gut microbes) aim to improve children’s eating habits through a fun and memorable way, by following Billie Pickle as she finds out about what the food in her tummy gets up to.
Agent On behalf of Little River UK & Commonwealth New River
The Sameday Forever Club
Justin Davies
When 10-year-old Jarvis Jensen gets stuck in a time loop on the worst day of his life, he joins forces with fellow timelooper Sunday Asante to turn it into the best possible Sameday.
Agent Thérèse Coen World English Floris
United Agents
This Blade of Ours Shalini Abeysekara
The compelling and romantic sequel to the bestselling This Monster of Mine is an “addictive story of corruption, monsters and intoxicating love”.
Agent Molly Jamieson
UK Hodder & Stoughton, Germany Piper
How to Kidnap a Penguin Susanna Bailey
Fast-paced, characterdriven romp that celebrates imperfection with an unexpected hero at the helm: Stanley, a normal boy but for his huge feet, which always make a mess of things.
Agent Emily Talbot Germany Edel JUMBO
This Is Not the Diary of Izzy Dobson
Abigail Balfe
Acclaimed authorillustrator Balfe’s newest has “cat doodles, brilliant(ish) brainwaves and hilarious observations” on life as Izzy Dobson searches not just for her missing Very Top Secret Embarrassing diary, but her place in the world.
Agent Emily Talbot World Puffin
Skelly Boy
George Wigzell
Actor and author Wigzell’s “high-stakes, high-octane” action adventure debut centres on Adam, a skeleton fighter in a dungeoncrawler video game that becomes all too real.
Agent Emily Talbot
Big Ideas from Art: Inspiring Young Minds to Love and Enjoy Art
The School of Life
The latest in the Big Ideas series shows children how art can connect us to our feelings, help us understand ourselves and bring comfort, excitement and joy.
Agent Georgina Le Grice on behalf of The School of Life
Watson, Little
Connected Singles
Sophie Clarkin
Second-chance, forced-proximity
New Adult romance about an unlucky college student who is mistakenly assigned a connected single room, with her crush-turned-nemesis living right next door.
Agent Megan Carroll
Half a Dark Heart
HF Askwith
Empowering YA horromantasy in which timid teen Alice is forced to confront the violent monsters only visible to her when her beloved sister goes missing.
Agent James Wills World English Penguin, Russia
10 Things I Hate
About My Boyfriend
Mahi Cheshire
Fake-dating YA romance that sees model student
Liyoni enlist abrasive MMA fighter Adam as her fake boyfriend, to frighten her meddling parents into approving of actual boyfriend Jack.
Agent Megan Carroll on behalf of Hannah Weatherill
The Truth Agents
Richard Joyce
Fun middle-grade adventure in which Betty is recruited by the secretive Truth Agency and races to expose a trillionaire’s “Big Like” scheme, learning that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is be yourself.
Agent James Wills
Boom Baby Boom Boom
Margaret Mahy
A reissued classic picture book from the iconic Carnegie awardwinning Kiwi author, with new illustrations, in conjunction with the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize 2027.
Agent Megan Carroll World English Hachette ANZ
WME
Mountain Sounds
Grace Smith
YA horror that has Tatum finally becoming head counsellor at her beloved summer camp, opening her eyes to the dangerous spirits lurking in the Appalachian valley it calls home.
Agent Rikki Bergman US FSG
Danny Go!’s Volcano Adventure
Danny Go!
YouTuber Go!’s debut picture book features an interactive hunt for magical ice gems deep inside a volcano.
Agent Janine Kamouh
UK Ladybird, US Abrams
What Happened to Those Girls
Carolyn Greenwald
Emma’s friends go camping without her. She is resentful, but then wakes to the news that all of them have been killed. With the authorities ruling it a tragic accident, Emma sets off to find out the truth.
Agent Janine Kamouh US Sourcebooks, Hungarian Genie vs Godmother Hannah Moffatt
Humorous lower middlegrade in which, during Once Upon a Primary’s magic experience week, Gene Genie is assigned a human to whom he can grant any wish. But when that wish is for Jack to get rid of his baby sister, Gene comes up against her healthand-safety obsessed fairy godmother.
Agent Lucy Balfour
The Case of Domino Zero Matt Cooper
An upper middle-grade set in a world where all adults have retired and children run the workforce. Detective Inspector Charlie and new police detective Aubrey must work together to solve a murder mystery and unravel a conspiracy.
Agent Kimberley Atkins
Writers House
Really Rubie
Maddie Frost
The middle-school experience –“awkward, dramatic and really fun” – in the first of a hilarious, diarystyle series featuring black and white illustrations.
Agent Andrea Morrison
UK Walker, North American
Simon & Schuster, French Hachette, German Thienemann, Italian Gallucci, Spain under offer, Dutch, Danish, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Polish
The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue
Zoulfa Katouh
What if you felt like you’d cried all the colours away? “Heart-wrenching” tale of friendship and loss from the As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow author.
Agent Alexandra Levick
UK & Commonwealth
Bloomsbury, North America Little, Brown, French Nathan, German Arctis, Dutch, Indonesian, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish Bosnian under offer
Twix
Jennifer Donnelly, Dave Mottram (illus)
Carnegie-winner Donnelly and illustrator Mottram’s middle-grade duology centring on Twix the rat.
Agent Steve Malk North American Balzer + Bray
Someone Saved
My Life Tonight
Jeff Giles YA novel. A bomb detonates in the crowded lobby of a pop concert in an unnamed American city.
Agent Jodi Reamer North America Nancy Paulsen
(Mostly) Awful Grownups River Clegg, Lúthien Leerghast (illus)
Debut middle-grade centring on twins whose parents go missing and are then caught up in narrow escapes and daring rescues.
Agent Steve Malk
UK & Commonwealth HarperCollins, North America Stonefruit Studio
The Wylie Agency
Hoof
Dan Ojari ( 19) “I’m fed up of just reading about exciting adventures. I think we should go on a real one,” says Hoof the goat, protagonist of this “wise and funny” picture book about seeing the magic in the world around you.
Agent Luke Ingram World Puffin
Zeno
Veiled Enchantments
Letty Sharpe
Seemingly average hedgewitch Blake must decide what she wants before an ancient magic consumes her and the world she knows.
Dark academia sapphic fantasy “for those who wanted Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked to kiss”.
Agent Kirsten Lang World Under offer
These Shattered Spires
Cassidy Ellis Salter
Four magical rivals avoid their twisted romances and the end of the world in a deadly competition. A queer Gothic fantasy YA, “perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and Gideon the Ninth”.
Agent Stevie Finegan
World English Bloomsbury, Italian Fazi, French Ynnis, Polish, Ukrainian
Hungry Thirsty Roots
Shaina A Cordas
Every night Dove wakes up in a haunted house and has to survive until the morning with the help of a mysterious guardian who she cannot fully trust but also can’t stop thinking about. A “coming-ofrage in a small town for fans of Stranger Things and Hazelthorn”.
Agent Kirsten Lang
Block by Block Cierra Block
Instagram mapmaker
Block adapts her bestselling adult travel style for the children’s market, exploring new cities in guides aimed at six-to-10 year-olds.
Agent Stevie Finegan
Salt & Steel
Jasmine Wigham ( 20) “Pirates of the Caribbean if Jack Sparrow was a woman” with a delicious love triangle. A YA fantasy “perfect for fans of Divine Rivals and A Tempest of Tea”.
Agent Stevie Finegan
Company Spotlight
Darley Anderson’s Clare Wallace and Kristina Egan on growing the business
Darley Anderson
Children’s Book Agency’s MD and director reflect on their strategy for expanding the company’s team and sustaining long-term careers for creators. Caroline Carpenter reports
Collaboration is a recurring theme throughout my conversation with Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency’s (DACBA) managing director Clare Wallace and head of international rights Kristina Egan. It has been instrumental in the agency’s recent growth, with Wallace saying: “We all work really closely together, which is strategic, because I do think it maximises what we’re able to offer all of our clients.”
DACBA was founded by CEO Darley Anderson ( 1) in 2008 as a separate entity to the adultfocused Darley Anderson Agency & Associates (DAAA). Wallace started out in DAAA’s rights department in 2011 where she began building
(and still represents) a boutique list of commercial adult fiction, but following Madeleine Milburn’s departure, she was tasked with building up the children’s business. Since then, it has seen impressive expansion with Wallace promoted to MD two years ago, following a year in which turnover rose by 56% and her clients (who include Beth Reekles, Dave Rudden and Nathanael Lessore) were nominated for a slew of major awards, earning her a British Book Awards’ Literary Agent of the Year shortlisting in 2024.
Wallace acknowledges that the growth has come at “a really exciting time across the children’s market for expansion” which has “definitely opened up areas that we found we could be exploring more.” One such area was
From left to right: Becca Langton, North American rights and literary agent; Kristina Egan, director and head of international rights; Clare Wallace, MD and literary agent; Lucy Irvine, literary agent; Lorna Hemingway, illustration and literary agent; Kat Lenahan, junior agent and assistant; and Maleeha Mir, agency assistant
illustration, with Bell Lomax Moreton’s Lorna Hemingway brought in last September to continue building a list of highly illustrated children’s books. A month later, PFD’s Lucy Irvine was recruited to focus on growing the fiction list from middle-grade through to new adult and crossover titles. Both hires form part of the agency’s strategy to offer expertise and passion in every area of the kids’ market. Wallace says of the new additions: “It feels like a jigsaw fitting together really well. We’ll probably hold steady for now, rather than expand more too quickly. But it feels like a really exciting, vibrant time.”
Alongside the new appointments, Egan –who joined DAAA’s rights team in 2015 and moved over to work exclusively for DACBA in 2022 – was made a director. Upon Egan’s promotion, Wallace credited her with increasing the agency’s international rights revenue by more than 400% since 2022. Egan says of her time at DACBA: “Not only was it great stepping up and managing a list of my own, but here I’ve learned new things and been given opportunities that might not have come had I not moved into children’s – especially working with Clare, who is very much about wanting people to shine.”
Wallace believes that the agency’s “joined-up rights strategy” contributes to its success. “We’ve always tried to keep our translation rights, and we employed Becca [Langton] to focus on North America. We really wanted to be able to say to our clients ‘we can simultaneously submit your book ourselves globally’.”
Prospective clients’ work is reviewed by not only the primary agent, but the wider team. Submission strategies and pitches are then worked on together. “I think that also led to growth,” states Wallace, “because when it works, it really builds momentum around a title, and things move very quickly. It means that we can be across the deal-making across all territories.” Egan adds: “A lot of agents feel like sole traders using the same resources. But here it really feels like we’re always trying to maximise every single book.”
This extends to agents working together when clients want to explore new directions. Wallace explains: “If, for example, Lucy has got a client who wants to write a picture book, she might work with Lorna alongside that. So, what might distinguish us slightly from other children’s agencies is it feels like you get the whole team behind you.” This united approach means that the highs and lows of agenting are weathered together. “It’s quite lonely otherwise,” Wallace muses. “I think agents feel like you’re only as good as your last deal, and it’s quite nice when you’re sharing some of that with your colleagues.” Egan agrees: “Especially when you specialise in a certain area… The reality is themes come and go. When you’re driven by a team’s success, you’re not living and dying by your own personal success so much.”
In terms of trends, the DACBA team recently held an internal mini book fair and “one thing that really stood out was illustrated non-fiction and narrative non-fiction seem to be completely booming”. Wallace expands: “There’s such a need for illustrated non-fiction and graphic novels across the whole age range. We can’t get them out on submission quick enough at the moment.” On the flipside, it has “never been harder” to sell picture book texts on their own.
Considering the rest of the market, she admits: “Middle grade is still really tough for us here. It’s tough in the US as well… YA is still really vibrant – there’s always a room for a new thriller in YA – but we’re hearing ‘core YA’ being asked for, that’s the new phrase… With the boom of crossover, there is a bit of a concern that it’s quite difficult now to differentiate what’s truly a teenage book and what’s actually for a new adult, so people want to make sure they’re really catering for both.” Egan has found this in the international market too, adding: “People still want romantasy… but there’s such a saturation in most major markets now, discoverability is quite difficult and you never really know what the readers are going to actually love.”
Another trend they have noticed is more AI-written submissions, though these still only
represent a “tiny percentage” of their inbox. When it comes to finding talent, Wallace is “really aware that we can’t wait for people to come and find us, and that we should be trying new avenues”. As such, she works with writing community WriteMentor while the Darley Anderson Illustration Mentorship Prize 2026 was launched in January to support and spotlight emerging illustrators from underrepresented backgrounds.
A
lot of agents feel like sole traders using the same resources. But here it really feels like we’re always trying to maximise every single book
Kristina
Egan
This aligns with the agency’s “big drive to make things more accessible, more inclusive”. Wallace explains: “We’ve always wanted to find underrepresented voices, and I do think we have to keep on fighting for that.” Following “really difficult conversations” with editors last year about representative books performing below expectations, she says: “There is a new caution from publishers in general. We also hear a lot of people saying they are commissioning less, but with more focus. That probably is very business savvy, but that will inevitably have a knock-on effect to the number of books by under-represented authors. We’re certainly not dialling back… If anything, I think it’s just galvanised us.”
Despite the challenges, Wallace is positive about the children’s book business. “What I specifically love about children’s is the missionled element of it. There is this lovely feeling we are all working because we want every child to read… And while it’s still really difficult to sustain careers, it generally feels a little bit less cut-throat than the adult side can feel at times.” Considering what it takes for a children’s creator to stay the course in today’s landscape, Wallace says: “So much of it is luck and timing and down to all those things that are slightly out of our control, in terms of whether a publisher is willing to go the long course with you, but so much of it also is tenacity – just keeping going, and potentially being prepared at some point to pivot what you’re doing.”
The pair are looking forward to Bologna Children’s Book Fair. “We genuinely feel excited about this season and this year,” says Egan. “Obviously, we’ve had a lot of changes, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. We also moved offices in January and then nosedived straight into fair season, everyone’s been working non-stop. This is our first [Bologna] as a new team so we’re excited, but also looking forward to getting some rest again after the fairs!” Beyond that, Wallace’s goal is simply “to carry on growing what we’re doing”, with Egan adding: “Building it brick by brick, for the long term.”
Myth-makers: Jon Lock and Nich Angell on launching Tiny Hercules
The comic book creators discuss starting out in the independent scene and the epic ambitions for their graphic novel series. Caroline Carpenter reports
Comic conventions are central in writer Jon Lock ( 1) and illustrator Nich Angell’s ( 2) journey to creating their middle-grade graphic novel series Tiny Hercules (Macmillan Children’s Books). Not only were they approached at one in 2023 by their future editors, Cate Augustin and Louisa Cusworth, but they first met through the comics scene more than 15 years ago.
Soon after meeting, they collaborated and eventually set up a company together with their wives, Ali Angell and Lucy Lock – known as Big Punch Studios – alongside their day jobs. “That’s what we’ve been doing for over a decade or so,” explains Lock. “Publishing our own books, our own graphic novels, making board games… We never wanted to be businesspeople. We just wanted to build an engine that meant we could keep telling stories.”
Author profile
When Augustin and Cusworth expressed interest, the friends delved into a trove of “about 78” ideas (by Angell’s estimation) that they had on the back burner to pitch a kids’ comic about a small version of Hercules, which eventually became Tiny Hercules .
The decision to write about Greek mythology was inspired by their love for superhero stories. Once they shared this with Macmillan, things moved quickly. “It was so easy to come up with ideas for his adventures and the stupid stuff that could make it funny,” says Angell.
The first volume follows Tiny Hercules after he is banished from Tiny Olympus for ruining Tiny Zeus’ legendary parties to the village of Chutney-on-Toast (somewhat inspired by the creators’ upbringing in the West Country), where he must undertake legendary tasks to earn his return home. According to Lock, the “winning part of the formula” was coming up with the character of Jeff, “the most serious boy in the world”. He expands: “We’ve got this little engine of chaos, Tiny Hercules, and the thing that made us both laugh – because that’s our goal, first and foremost, to make each other laugh – was the idea that most kids would be delighted and fascinated to have a tiny, magical friend and then we just flipped it on his head… [Jeff] hates everything about this.”
Herculean task
Their working process sees them start any project by walking around the big table in the middle of their Gloucester-based studio and “just throwing random ideas at each other and seeing what will stick”. Once they have the skeleton of a story, they build it into an in-depth synopsis which they send to their editors for feedback. Next, Lock writes a script based on the synopsis and passes these pages on to Angell to illustrate a rough version of the comic book, with Lock adding lettering afterwards. This gets sent to their editors for further feedback and once edits have been made, they go back over every page to produce the final artwork and lettering.
It took eight months in total to create Tiny Hercules and then they were very involved in the production process, building the InDesign document for the book. They feel that their long partnership makes the process smoother. “It’s like we’re two heads of the same beast,” says Angell, with Lock adding: “We’re both bringing something a little different and he surprises me, and I hopefully surprise him, even though we both know what’s in the story. It keeps it fun for us.”
They had both written for children before – Angell on his own comic, Cat and Meringue , as well as freelance illustration work for Titan Magazines, and Lock on writing for video games – and enjoy catering to this audience. “More than anything, I think it’s a very optimistic age group,” says Lock. “One
Tiny Hercules Jon Lock and Nich Angell 5th February, Macmillan Children’s Books, £9.99, PB, 9781035059645
Rights sold: US, Brazilian, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan and Danish
of the worst things about superhero comics is that they’ve become very cynical, and I think they’ve aged with their audience… I don’t know if we’ve left much for the kids. What’s been great about meeting kids through telling these stories is just there’s so much excitement. There’s not a hint of irony… That energy is infectious.”
light of the current literacy crisis, Angell says: “It feels like we’re actually really helping and doing something genuine and important, and something that we really believe in as well.”
Comic timing
It is well-documented that we are in a boom period for graphic novels. Angell feels this is the “first real big chance in the UK that comics have had to be properly respected and be a career path for those who make them”. Pointing to bestselling creators Jamie Smart and Neill Cameron, who also started out in the indie scene, Lock notes: “They needed an audience, and it turns out that the audience we all found was kids who just were desperate for content that really spoke to them.” Angell continues: “This genuinely could be revolutionary, what’s happening right now, specifically with this age group and this format of book, for comics in the UK. For us to be a part of that is such an honour.”
This genuinely could be revolutionary, what’s happening right now, specifically with this age group and this format of book, for comics in the UK
Jon Lock
Angell adds: “It’s such an amazing age group as well, because they develop so much in that time… It means that you can almost build multiple stories into one. With older age groups or specific genres, you’re a bit more locked down, but it’s incredibly free and fun to write here.” They both agree that a key priority is not talking down to the readers.
“You can’t underestimate them,” says Lock. “I think if we trust their intelligence and we try to have a pretty solid plot, we can then hang as many silly jokes on it as we like. You can sneak in some surprisingly complex emotional stuff as well.”
Since Tiny Hercules February, the pair have toured schools extensively, talking to more than 4,000 children. They have clearly enjoyed interacting with their audience and joyfully recount children’s reactions to Angell’s drawalong at the end. “They go absolutely wild… In a world where there’s Fortnite and iPads and all those other distractions, they’re so excited to just draw a character.”
During their visits, they try to promote “the idea that humans make comics”. Reflecting on the heartwarming feedback they have received so far, particularly in
They both appreciate the support network that working with a publisher has brought. Lock points out the contrast with the world of comic conventions, which he calls “a very merch-driven environment… It’s been so refreshing to be in an environment where the book is key… That is really uplifting.” Next up, the duo is “tremendously excited” to be heading to Bologna Children’s Book Fair for meetings with potential international publishers.
Macmillan has signed three more titles in the Tiny Hercules series so far, to be published at six-month intervals. The second volume, Tiny Hercules – Golden Cabbage Chaos! (August), introduces the characters of Tinytaur (a small minotaur), Minidusa (mini Medusa) and the Grifflet (a tiny fire-breathing griffin), while later instalments will feature the Tiny Underworld, Tiny Hades and Tiny Artemis. They also want to explore time travel and put their own spin on Clash of the Titans and The Odyssey. “We’ve got big plans for not pulling our punches when
The Tiny Hercules character is the product of Lock and Angell's studio brainstorming sessions
Nikolas Nurdblok is the youngest child in a family of famous adventurers who search for lost pieces and instructions and things…
Now it is time for Nik to join the rest of his family for his FIRST ADVENTURE. The problem is that Nik’s family don’t appreciate his genius. After a couple of mishaps that definitely weren’t Nik’s fault, his family set off to find a legendary LOST BRICK but leave him at home.
Nik decides he’s going anyway. His mum and dad didn’t say he couldn’t go - they just said he couldn’t go with them. And so, Nik and his loyal best friend Knute embark on an adventure that will (probably) change the world. OBVIOUSLY Nik can find the lost brick by himself and doesn’t need anyone else there … or does he?
A highly illustrated adventure full of laugh-out-loud moments, creative building, and the occasional alligator, Nikolas Nurdblock and the Lost Brick is perfect for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dog Man and The 13-Storey Treehouse
THIS OCTOBER 2026 #THELOSTBRICK
Nikolas Nurdblok and the Lost Brick by Jeffrey Brown
JOIN THE HUNT!
Imagine a world where technology has been lost and people have forgotten how to build…
A hilarious adventure from New York Times bestselling Jeffrey Brown featuring a completely original cast of characters never seen before in the world.
COMING OCTOBER 2026