Dunbar's adult debut goes to Faber

Faber is to publish Polly Dunbar's first adult title, Hello, Mum, next spring.

Associate publisher Laura Hassan acquired world rights in all languages from James Catchpole at the Catchpole Agency.

Hello Mum documents Dunbar's own experiences of "the beautiful and maddening moments of parenthood". The synopsis states: "Hello, Mum is [Dunbar's] visual diary of the magical highs and absurd lows that many parents will recognise – from the shock and awe of the baby days to the delight (and terror) of the toddler years and the mayhem of sibling rivalry. Dunbar’s fantastically funny, wise and enchanting drawings capture this precious and fleeting time with heart-touching perfection."
 
Dunbar (pictured with her sons) is best known for her children's illustrations. Her 2007 book Penguin won the BookTrust Early Years Award, the Nestlé Silver Children’s Book Prize and the Red House Children’s Book of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She was also chosen as one of BookTrust’s Ten Best Illustrators.

She has illustrated books by David Almond, Michael Morpurgo and her mother, Joyce Dunbar. She is also the illustrator of The Hug and While We Can’t Hug (Faber), written by Eoin McLaughlin. She created Tilly and Friends,  an animated series on CBeebies, and many of her other stories have been adapted for the stage. She is also co-founder of Long Nose Puppets, an award-winning theatre company.

The book will be released in March 2021, in time for Mother's Day.