Our children’s authors are shining brightly this week, as we get to shout about a double middle-grade publication and some of the amazing publicity that some of their YA books have been receiving. Along with more bestseller news  and some brilliant articles that our authors have written up, here are this week’s highlights.

 

Take a look at this quirky cover for Maisie Chan’s latest middle-grade book Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths, which published this week with Picadilly Press/Bonnier. Having been selected as The Bookseller’s ‘One to Watch’ for March 2021, it comes as no surprise that Danny Chung has shot up to No.1 on the ‘Exploring Asia’ list on amazon this week!

Also published this week is Kate Gilby Smith’s middle-grade novel, The Astonishing Future of Alex Nobody. Kate’s new book follows the adventures of Alex, who finds strange things happen to her.  On the day Alex was born, crowds surrounded the hospital. On her first day of school, people spied from the gates. And recently, strangers came to watch her perform in her school play… as the llama. But why? Alex has always been a nobody. When a mysterious boy named Jasper starts at school  it seems that he knows the answer, but before he can tell Alex, he disappears… into the year 2100. Follow Alex on her time-traveling adventure, as she races against the clock to unravel the secret of her own astonishing destiny.

 

Sara Nisha Adam’s debut novel The Reading List (William Morrow), was recently featured in The Toronto Star as one of ‘24 Books for a Summer’s Worth of Reading’, where it was described as “a lovely story about how a love of reading can transport us to other worlds and also bring us together.’’

Sara’s debut which is set to be published in July 2021, follows teenager Aleisha and aging widower Mukesh, whose chance meeting at the library forms an unlikely book club of two. When Aleisha discovers a crumpled reading list tucked into a tattered library book, she introduces Mukesh to the magic of these timeless stories, from those of love and friendship to an epic journey across the Pacific Ocean with a boy and a tiger in a boat. The Reading List is a love letter to storytelling – its power to transport us, connect us, and remind us that a new beginning is only a page away.

 

Helly Acton’s romcom The Couple (Bonnier Zaffre) was recently featured in the Irish Sunday Independent’s roundup of ‘50 Hot Reads for the Summer’.

 

Daisy Jones’ All The Things She Said: Everything I Know About Modern Lesbian and Bi Culture (Coronet/Hachette), has been creating a lot of buzz since publication last week. Daisy was interviewed for a feature in Huck Magazine online, where she discussed more about the book and her motivations for writing it. The book is also currently #1 in Lesbian Biographies on Amazon, was included in a roundup in The Stylist of ‘New LGBTQ+ Non-fiction Titles’, and also made an appearance in Diva Magazine, where the reviewer described it as ‘’a ‘love-letter’ of sorts to inclusive queer-women’s culture’’. Having also been featured in an article for Refinery29, the writer discussed how All The Things She Said interrogates the ‘’Crazy Lesbian’’ trope that permeates media, and the way in which queer sexuality and mental-health are often stigmatised.

Having kicked off pride month with the publication of her new book, Daisy was also invited to appear alongside bestselling authors, Malinda Lo and Laura Kay at a panel event for Hachette Pride, where they discussed ‘Queer Spaces: Past, Present and Future’ and their own experiences of queer spaces, from London to Sheffield to San Francisco. And to top off all of these exciting updates, we are thrilled to congratulate Daisy on winning Lighthouse Books’ ‘Glass Bell Award For Fiction’!

 

Jodie Chapman’s debut novel Another Life (Penguin Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House) is currently No. 15 on The Sunday Times Hardback Fiction list! Having recently been chosen to be the BBC Two Between the Covers pick, the book shot straight to No. 8 on the Amazon bestsellers chart overnight. Another Life has been a major hit amongst readers, bloggers and authors alike, with Beth Morrey, author of the bestselling Saving Missy, praising the book as ‘Stunning. Written with such poignancy, full of nostalgia, unspoken longing and the agony of wrong turns’

 

In other bestselling news:

Elizabeth Macneal’s Circus of Wonders (Picador/Pan Macmillan) has gained significant attention since its publication, being a consistent presence on The Sunday Times bestseller list over the last few weeks. We are delighted to see that it is back still on the hardback fiction list this week at No.21.

 

Emma Stonex’s The Lamplighters (Picador/PanMacmillan) is also on The Sunday Times hardback fiction chart at No. 23. Emma also recently wrote a wonderful article on the best UK lighthouses to inspire your next holiday for Woman & Home, which you can read here.

 

 

C.L Taylor’s Her Last Holiday (Avon/HarperCollins) appeared on the UK charts at No.30. C.L Taylor is no stranger to single digits when it comes to bestseller rankings, having hit the No. 8 spot in The Sunday Times the week Her Last Holiday was published back in April. The book is also currently No.1 in three Amazon Bestseller categories.

Brianna Bourne’s YA debut, You and Me at the End of the World (Scholastic) which is set to be published in July 2021, was recently featured in The New York Times on the list of ’10 YA Books to Watch Out for This Summer’. You and Me is certainly building significant anticipation amongst early readers in the run up to publication, with the book having also been featured in Pop Sugar’s ‘Best 50 Kids Books Coming Out This Year’ and Book Riot’s ‘2021 YA Roundup’.

 

 

Kelly DeVos, author of upcoming YA thriller Eat Your Heart Out (Razorbill/Penguin Random House), is already hard at work on another thrilling new book titled, Go Hunt Me which was announced this week by Penguin Random House Teens.  The premise introduces us to, Alex who enjoys making small films with her friends, but when they go big and travel to Romania to make a Dracula documentary, things go wrong VERY fast and as Alex’s friends start disappearing one by one, is the world’s most famous vampire possibly real?

Kelly’s most recent zombie-thriller, Eat Your Heart Out, is set to be published on June 29th 2021, and has been creating a huge amount of buzz, having been featured on Pop Sugar’s ‘Best of June Roundup’ ahead of publication, as well as Frolic.com’s ‘Top 10 Young Adult Reads for June 2021’.

 

Phil Hickes’ haunting middle-grade mystery, The Haunting of Aveline Jones (Usborne Publishing) has been chosen by The BookTrust to be one of seventeen children’s titles for their #BookBuzz campaign, a reading programme, that aims to help secondary schools inspire a love of reading in 11 to 13-year-olds. We’re sure students won’t be able to put down this spooky novel, as they dive head-first into Aveline’s investigations and a truly heart-stopping mystery.

 

Louise Gooding, author of exciting new anthology Just Like Me (Studio Press/Bonnier), has written an article for The BookTrust, where she reveals how her own neurologically and physically diverse family inspired the book. Be sure to check out the full article here.

 

Speaking of articles, Ben Dean, author of  Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow (Simon & Schuster Children’s), also recently wrote a feature for the Waterstones blog in celebration of Pride Month, where he discusses his experiences as a gay man, connecting with the LGBTQ+ community and his first Pride event. He writes, “I’ve adored Pride events up and down the country and around the world. Each year, it allows me to celebrate my identity and community alongside my chosen family, from the streets in Manchester, to Black Pride in London. And every year I’m reminded of the kid growing up who thought he was an alien with three heads and six arms because he couldn’t see himself reflected in others. I wrote my debut book, Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, in honour of that kid. It was only natural that it included elements of my identity and life, as well as the thrill of a Pride adventure.”

 

Abbie Greaves, author of The Ends of the Earth (Century/Penguin Random House) was the featured author on The Motherload Book Club Facebook page for ‘Authursday’, where she read an extract from her latest book. You can watch it here!

 

 

James Plunkett‘s most recent book End State: 9 Ways Society is Broken and How We Can Fix It (Trapeze/Penguin Random House) which is set to be published on June 24th 2021, has recently gained glowing praise from author of bestselling How Britain Ends, Gavin Esler, who commented that James’ “analysis of what needs to be re-thought, repaired is beautifully written and ultimately optimistic. This book made me think. For me there is no higher praise.” Labour Party politician and jounralist, Andrew Adonis likewise praised the book as “A book full of bold ideas for how to make life better. James Plunkett is a one man think tank and his ideas deserve a wide audience.”

 

Ashley Audrain’ s New York Times bestselling novel The Push (Penguin Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House) has gone from strength-to-strength since publication, having been a consistent presence on The Toronto Star, The New York Times and The Sunday Times bestseller lists, and also gaining significant attention across the globe, being translated in a total of 36 foreign territories. Ashley recently appeared in a virtual interview for the German magazine Geistesblüten, where she discusses the themes of mother-daughter relationships and the complexity of motherhood that drives her novel. Be sure to check out the full interview here.

 

In some fantastic IRD news:

Bosnian rights for The Push by Ashley Audrain have been sold to Buybook getting us to 36 foreign deals!

French rights for Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher have been pre-empted by Casterman