Laura Steven signs with Egmont for MG debut

YA author Laura Steven is writing a MG novel for Egmont under the pen name Laura Kirkpatrick.

And Then I Turned Into a Mermaid is about Molly Seabrook, a girl who has to dress up as a haddock to promote the family fish and chip shop. After her 13th birthday she finds out she is part mermaid and soon misses the days when the fish costume was her biggest worry.

Commissioning editor Liz Bankes acquired world rights to two books from Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary and Media. And Then I Turned Into a Mermaid will be published in May 2019, with the second title following in February 2020.

Bankes said: "Laura is 2018’s breakout comedy voice in YA, so we are thrilled to bring her writing to a middle-grade audience for the first time. With the hilarious and heart-warming relationships and everyday-life appeal of Louise Rennison and 'Derry Girls', And Then I Turned Into a Mermaid dives headfirst into the mermaid trend in a whole new way."