Hardie Grant launches new children's imprint Bright Light

Hardie Grant is launching Bright Light, a new imprint from its children’s division focusing on issues such as gender and diversity, in the UK this summer.

Spearheaded by children’s publishing managing director Troy Lewis, the list is billed as a “ground-breaking collection of illustrated books for children, united by a vision to change the world one conversation at a time”.

It will launch in July 2021 and will publish more than 20 titles a year with an aim to explore the themes of gender, environment, first nations, bodies, character and diversity in a fun, interesting and engaging way.

“We are thrilled to bring Bright Light to the UK market,” Lewis said. “For over 16 years, HGCP has been the home of bestselling books for young people. Bright Light is a continuation of this commitment to publishing. As the world gets more complicated, it gets harder and harder to see how to help our kids understand it. There is a huge gap in the market for stories that help young readers navigate the world, in a way that is empathetic, gentle, humorous and kind.”

The list will launch with How To Be a Real Man by TikTok star Scott Stuar, who rose to fame on the platform after posting a video of himself and his son dressed up as Elsa for a screening of “Frozen 2”. Other titles will include The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name, “a warm and uplifting story that shows how no one should ever have to shrink themselves down to fit in” and Minty Mae Gray and the Strangely Good Day, from Fifi Box and Freda Chu, billed as a "bright and funny celebration of self-love, challenging negative self-talk and proving that beauty is all about perception".

"We couldn’t be more delighted to launch such an exciting and forward-looking list of books in the UK,” said Stephen King, m.d. of Hardie Grant Books in London. “We are extremely proud to be part of the dialogue around these important subject areas and the response and support we’ve received so far has been excellent.

“We know that conversations about privilege, anti-racism, sovereignty and equality are critical in raising children to become good citizens of the world - but they’re also notoriously tricky to start and keep going. Bright Light is all about providing those prompts so that parents can guide their children confidently.”