BA unveils Little Wing and Jummy at the River School as first 2022 books of the month

The Booksellers Association (BA) has announced Little Wing by Freya North (Welbeck) as its first Fiction Book of the Month for 2022 and Jummy at the River School by Sabine Adeyinka (Chicken House) as its children's choice for January.       

Little Wing is described  as “a compelling story of family secrets, courage and resilience, which moves between the story of a pregnant teenager sent to a remote part of the UK in the 1960s, and Nell and Dougie, whose lives collide in the early millennium as secrets surface and answers are sought, all against the backdrop of The Isle of Harris”. It will be published by Welbeck on 20th January. 

North said of the book’s selection: “Independent bookshops have always been my sanctuary — my favourite place to browse, buy and be with like-minded bookworms. During lockdown, my local bookshops were truly the beating heart of our community — going above and beyond to keep our spirits up, even delivering books to doorsteps. I'm profoundly grateful for the support the indies have always extended to me and my novels since I was first published in 1996.” 

Jummy at the River School is Adeyinka’s debut novel and follows Jummy, who is excited to have won a place at the River School, the finest girls’ boarding school in Nigeria, even though her best friend Caro cannot join her. School is everything she dreamt of, but when Caro arrives to work, rather than learn, Jummy has to bring her friends together to help. The book is published by Chicken House on 6th January.

Adeyinka also paid tribute to independent bookshops, saying: “If you have an independent bookshop near you, that’s a winner. From the bell as you walk through the door to the tantalising smell of new books just begging to be read, there’s a vast variety of books especially for children. They’re an authentic space for inquisitive minds to fill their minds in the community, and it’s an honour for Jummy at the River School to be championed by indies across the UK.” 

Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting Little Wing and Jummy at the River School throughout January on social media and in store. The BA will be supporting the promotion of its Books of the Month through social media and promotional material. 

The Indie Book of the Month is a campaign run by the BA, first launched as Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Season in 2017, the initiative proved so popular that it became a monthly campaign in 2019. In January 2020 the campaign was rebranded as Indie Book of the Month with a new logo designed by children’s author and illustrator Sophy Henn and, in March 2020, an adult fiction title was introduced to the campaign, to run alongside the children’s title.