New Tracy Beaker novel to be published in October

Puffin, part of Penguin Random House Children’s, will publish a new novel about Tracy Beaker and her daughter Jess by Jacqueline Wilson, in October.

We Are the Beaker Girls, a sequel to last year’s My Mum Tracy Beaker, shows the mother and daughter living above a seaside antique shop. Jess wants to make friends in her new town but is being picked on by a local kid called Jordan. When Jess, however, discovers that Jordan’s life has been a lot like Tracy’s, things are set to change for the Beaker girls.

When asked what inspired the story, Wilson said: “I wanted to find out what happens next to Tracy Beaker and her daughter Jess. I started wondering whether Tracy, a veteran of the care system, would ever considering fostering a child herself. And what impact it would have on Jess.”

We Are the Beaker Girls will be published in hardback, e-book, audio CD and audio download on 17th October, marking the first time that Wilson has been published in audiobook. Puffin has UK and Commonwealth rights and her agent is Caroline Walsh.

Puffin are planning an “extensive” marketing and PR campaign around the release and Wilson will be making appearances at literature festivals and events around the UK.

Wilson is one of the UK’s bestselling children’s authors and the Tracy Beaker series has sold more than 3.5 million books, according to Puffin. She was children’s laureate between 2005 and 2007 and several of her novels, including The Story of Tracy Beaker, have been turned into CBBC dramas.