Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse sells into 50 languages

The Penguin Random House rights team has sold The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy into 50 languages worldwide with the 50th language, Georgian, confirmed this week.

Since publication in October 2019, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has sold 1.62 million copies for £18.1m in the UK, according to BookScan’s Total Consumer Market (outside of lockdown sales only).

The 50 territories include Ukrainian rights, fulfilling a personal wish of Mackesy’s, as well as Frisian, Penguin Random House’s first ever translation deal in Frisian for an adult title.

The rights team have also concluded deals to translate The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story, which accompanies the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning animated short film, into 22 languages so far. 

Chantal Noel, group rights director, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of our amazing rights team and what they’ve achieved. It’s been an incredible honour to be on this journey, spreading Charlie’s message which is touching lives all over the world. This remarkable milestone goes to show how universally that message resonates.”