Bloomsbury acquires Lev Grossman's debut children's book

Bloomsbury Children's Books has acquired fantasy author Lev Grossman's first children's book,The Silver Arrow.

UK  and Commonwealth rights for the middle-grade title were acquired by head of fiction Ellen Holgate, from Matilda Forbes Watson at WME.

Grossman has written five adult novels, including the Magicians trilogy which has sold over 50,000 copies through Nielsen BookScan's UK TCM and was adapted into a television series for SyFy.

He said: "My inspiration for The Silver Arrow was the work of storytellers like Roald Dahl and Hayao Miyazaki, who spun dark, magical tales about kids who suspected there was more to the world than adults would admit, and who wound up discovering they were right. I wanted to write a version of that story that would be timeless, but also fit the world we live in now."

Described as a "classical magical adventure story with a timely conservation message", the book is due to be published in hardback in September.

Holgate said: "The Silver Arrow is a joy from beginning to end. Written with imaginative flair, a large measure of fun, and a clear conservation story which is delivered with poignancy and hope—it’s a dream book from an incredible author."