Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: ‘I never saw autistic girls in books’

The author was repeatedly told that no one wanted to read fun books with disabled heroes. Now she has won the £5,000 Waterstones children’s book prize for her debut, A Kind of SparkWhen Scottish author Elle McNicoll was first trying to enter the publishing world, she was repeatedly told that people didn’t want to read about an autistic heroine. “In job interviews, I was saying that I wanted to see more books with disabled characters in them that were not traumatic, boring or educational, but fun and full of life. A lot of the reactions were, ‘Waterstones don’t like books like that’,” she says.Now McNicoll’s debut novel A Kind of Spark has won the Waterstones children’s book prize. Published by tiny independent Knights Of, it follows Addie, an 11-year-old autistic girl, as she campaigns for a memorial to the witch trials that took place in her Scottish village. The novel has been praised by Waterstones’ booksellers as “eye opening, heart-wrenching, sad [and] inspiring”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-07-01 05:01:05 UTC ]

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11 Must-Read December Children’s Book Releases

The crisp weather makes it the perfect time to snuggle up with a little one and read these 11 December children's book releases. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-12-06 11:39:00 UTC ]
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Exclusive cover reveal: Sarah Thankam Mathews’ All This Could Be Different.

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Sarah Thankam Mathews’ debut novel All This Could Be Different, which will be published by Viking—who acquired it in an 8-way auction—in summer 2022. The publisher describes the book as “an electrifying novel of a young immigrant building a life... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-03 15:00:16 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of December 06, 2021

A debut novel by a HarperCollins UK editor goes to Putnam, former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III sells a memoir to Atria, Random House buys NBA winner Tiya Miles’s latest, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Debut novel by ‘Russian Proust’ to be published in English for the first time

The translation of Deceit by ‘groundbreaking’ author Yuri Felsen, who died in Auschwitz in 1943, is set to come out next MayThe debut novel by Yuri Felsen, an author once regarded as the “Russian Proust” whose work has been forgotten since he died in Auschwitz in 1943, is set to be published in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-01 14:12:48 UTC ]
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Julia Fine: Ghosts of Rebel Children’s Book Authors

The author of The Upstairs House on postpartum depression, hauntings, and the legacy of Margaret Wise Brown. Continue reading at Guernica

[ Guernica | 2021-11-18 03:45:32 UTC ]
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John Lewis sued by self-published children’s author over Christmas ad

Fay Evans alleges a ‘striking similarity’ between the 2019 Excitable Edgar TV campaign and her 2017 book Fred the Fire-Sneezing DragonThe author of a self-published children’s book about a dragon that causes havoc with its fiery sneezes is suing John Lewis over its 2019 Christmas ad about a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-16 14:46:45 UTC ]
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A Debut Novel Where Small Moments Add Up to Something Big

In “A Little Hope,” Ethan Joella explores quiet lives in small-town Connecticut. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-11-16 10:00:03 UTC ]
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Atlantic signs 'punchy and provocative' Taxi Driver-inspired debut by Guns

Atlantic Fiction has acquired Your Driver Is Waiting, the debut novel by Priya Guns, inspired by Martin Scorsese’s classic film "Taxi Driver". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-16 03:54:36 UTC ]
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Who Was Beatrix Potter?

The illustrator Joana Avillez delves into the life story of one of her favorite children’s book authors, creator of Peter Rabbit. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-11-12 16:48:15 UTC ]
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Sara Cox's 'big-hearted' debut novel Thrown lands at Coronet

"Between the Covers" presenter Sara Cox’s debut novel, Thrown, has gone to Coronet. It follows the lives of four women at a pottery class held at a community centre. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-10 10:45:35 UTC ]
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“People Wanted Stories About How Hard It Was to Be a Woman.” Marlowe Granados on Resisting Market Trends

Marlowe Granados is the guest. Her debut novel, Happy Hour, is out now from Verso Books. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts!  From the episode: Marlowe Granados: I think that you have to wait a little bit for the correct timing. That was my main gripe with the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-09 09:50:34 UTC ]
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In the United States: Sourcebooks Acquires BES Publishing

'Our children’s book business now accounts for more than half our annual sales,' says Sourcebooks' Kay Birkner as the company buys BES Publishing. The post In the United States: Sourcebooks Acquires BES Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-11-04 18:59:42 UTC ]
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Licensed to thrill: Kim Sherwood set to ‘expand the James Bond universe’

Known for her debut novel Testament, the Ian Fleming fanatic has been approved to write new novels set in 007’s world but without the agent himselfA new generation of Double O agents has been authorised by the estate of Ian Fleming, with Bond aficionado and novelist Kim Sherwood set to pen a new... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-04 09:49:02 UTC ]
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12 Must-Read November Children’s Book Releases

From new books by Jason Reynolds and Andrea Beaty to powerful books about Black history, November children's book releases have lots of gems! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-11-02 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Staunch Prize shortlists for flash fiction and short stories revealed

The 2021 shortlists have been revealed for the Staunch Prize’s unpublished flash fiction and short stories without violence to women, while the original book prize is on hold until 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-01 12:22:21 UTC ]
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Lightning Books scoops debut novel from Scottish playwright Boyle

Lightning Books has scooped the debut novel by award-winning Scottish playwright and rising screen star Kenny Boyle. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-28 09:09:50 UTC ]
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Did you know that Sylvia Plath wrote a rhyming children’s book about silly beds?

Sylvia Plath was born 89 years ago today. A published writer from age at, she left behind a vast catalogue of poetry and prose, especially given her short life. One of her most charming works was a rhyming children’s book written in 1959 (before either of her children were born) and published in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-27 17:44:35 UTC ]
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No more pulp

With sustainability and green practices now top of the agenda for many companies, here at the Children’s Book Project (CBP) we are asking you as publishers to take a Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-27 13:38:51 UTC ]
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Sujit Sivasundaram Wins the £25,000 British Academy Book Prize

'The perspective of Indigenous peoples in the Indian and Pacific oceans' give 'Waves Across the South' distinction, say British Academy jurors. The post Sujit Sivasundaram Wins the £25,000 British Academy Book Prize appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-10-27 11:40:47 UTC ]
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A Debut Novel of a Life in the Arctic, Beyond History’s Reach

In “The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven,” by Nathaniel Ian Miller, a young man swaps the daily grind for the unpeopled expanses of the Far North. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-10-26 09:00:03 UTC ]
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