GBBO's Nadiya Hussain to write children's book

Nadiya Hussain, the winner of last year’s “The Great British Bake Off”, is writing a children’s book of stories and recipes, which is due to hit shops in September.

Bake Me a Story, which will be published by Hodder Children’s Books (HCB), is a collection of recipes and stories that have been rewritten with a “modern twist” by Hussain. For example, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the Very Berry Shopping List” will be included, alongside a recipe for Very Berry Breakfast Muffins.

Hussain said that she has always wanted to write a book for children. “I bake with my children and I grew up with parents who are big cooks. My Dad always said that kids shouldn’t be scared of the kitchen. We forget that it’s a life skill, to be able to go into the kitchen and make something to eat.”

Hussain, who is writing all of the stories herself, said she has always had a passion for storytelling. “I got the writing bug when I was about eight and won a national poetry competition as a child. So for me this was a no-brainer.”

The book will be organised according to time of day, with stories and recipes for breakfast, lunch and before bed, because as Hussain said, “you don’t want a story at 5 p.m. that will have kids bouncing off the walls”.

A decision hasn’t yet been taken on the illustrations but Hussain said that she wants them to be “bright and colourful and fun”. She added: “I’m a Quentin Blake girl! It would be lovely to have my children included in the book, too.”

HCB publishing director Anne McNeil brokered the deal with Anne Kibel of A K Artist Management. Hussain was approached by several children’s publishers, but told The Bookseller: “When we decided to go with Hodder the idea and team just went really well together.”

HCB, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Group, will publish Bake Me a Story in hardback in September. The title’s r.r.p. is yet to be confirmed.