ACHUKAblog
Savannah Brown, author of The Truth About Keeping Secrets, explains all about ESCAPRIL, a community social media poetry project that encourages participants to write and post a poem a day throughout April.
ACHUKA plans to get on board to support and promote this – why not join in too?
The Madeleine Milburn agency has sold UK & Commonwealth rights to Damaris Young’s debut middle-grade book, The Switching Hour to Lauren Fortune at Scholastic in a two-book deal.
Due for publication in August 2019 the book is inspired by the landscapes and legends from Damaris’ childhood growing up in Southern Africa, telling the story of a girl called Amaya…
Damaris is a middle-grade author who wrote The Switching Hour whilst on the Bath Spa MA. She spent her childhood in Zambia where she was told local myths and stories which now influence her writing. She has since moved to Bristol where she works on building worlds and adventures for MG readers with strong friendships at the heart of them.
In 2018, Madeleine Milburn won Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards. She was praised for her ‘prolific deal-making‘ andis known as a ‘tenacious negotiator and an excellent collaborator with a nose for commercial success’.
Candy Gourlay has become the next Writer in Residence for BookTrust, taking over from Nicola Davies.
Candy Gourlay is well-known for her books Bone Talk, , Shine and Tall Story. She has been nominated for top industry prizes including the Guardian Children’s Book Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Branford Boase Award.
Highlights of Candy’s residency will include a creative writing competition for primary schools and an exciting book event for Filipino children in London.
This book began life as a web comic, supported by pledges from Patreon – see previous blog post…
Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met … until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance.
But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.
Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.
This is the first volume of Heartstopper, with more to come.
Meet Tad. She’s the smallest tadpole in a big pond, and lives there with all her tadbrothers and tadsisters.
Something else lives there too… BIG BLUB! When everyone starts to disappear, Tad starts to wonder if Big Blub will get her too…
Or is everyone else going somewhere else; somewhere better? And if so, will Tad ever get there too?
A big story about a tiny tadpole – about growing up, branching out, and taking a leap into life. From the award-winning author and illustrator of The Storm Whale and Granddad’s Island, and the perfect story for everyone who’s ever grown up, or still has a way to go…
A stunning debut novel.
Sydney’s dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around their small Ohio town. He is also unexpectedly dead. Is Sydney crazy, or is it kind of weird that her dad – a guy whose entire job revolved around other peoples’ secrets – crashed alone, with no explanation? And why is June Copeland, homecoming queen and the town’s golden child, at his funeral?
As the two teenagers grow closer in the wake of the accident, it’s clear that not everyone is happy about their new friendship.
Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week, 10 Feb 2019
From the launch list of Scallywag Press, founded by Sarah Pakenham, formerly in the rights department at Andersen Press.
ACHUKA understands the first print run of this title sold out in less than a month.
Jon Agee is brilliant in his use of the page turn, visual storytelling, and deadpan humour, and appeals to fans of Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen.
Have a great [22nd] World Book day everyone!
Here’s a reminder of the special £1 titles that the vouchers can be exchanged for – remember, though, that the voucher can be put toward the cost of any other book.
Visit Waterstones special World Book Day page….
Times Children’s Book of the Week, 23 Feb 2019
After the death of her beloved father, Maggie and her family are thrown into a life of destitution. With little income and no way to live off their poor land, Maggie tries to provide for her family the way her father always had – with his hunting rifle and whatever animals the forest would provide. But when her mother is confronted with her “unladylike” behaviour, Maggie is thrown into a life of unthinkable cruelty and abuse. With no one to care for her and only the hope of escape, all Maggie can do is survive. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 13+.
“I’m hoping Landman has a second shot at the same target.” Alex O’Connell, The Times
Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week 3 March 2019
A facsimile edition of the tattered notebooks of the Unknown Adventurer, this love letter to the wild details everything you need to know about how to live and thrive in nature, from the principles of treehouse building to wilderness first aid.
If you are reading this, it means my notebooks have been found. I am leaving them here at camp for safekeeping along with a few other belongings that I won’t be taking with me. The notebooks are a lifetime’s worth of knowledge, which I’m passing on to you.
So reads an excerpt from the weatherworn letter discovered by nature enthusiast Teddy Keen on a recent trip to the Amazon.