Riddell to illustrate Hardinge's 'The Lie Tree'

Children’s laureate Chris Riddell is illustrating a new edition of Frances Hardinge’s Costa Book of the Year winning novel The Lie Tree (Macmillan Children’s Books).

Rachel Petty, editorial director at Macmillan Children’s Books, was inspired to publish the gift edition after seeing how Riddell had already doodled in his own personal copy  ofThe Lie Tree. He had sketched an image of Faith, the book’s hero, on the Chapter One heading, then posted a photo to Instagram.  

The new edition will be published in hardback on 20th October, priced at £9.99.

In January this year, The Lie Tree was named the £30,000 2015 Costa Book of the Year, the first children's book to claim the prize in more than a decade. Hardinge beat off competition from bookies’ favourite Michael Hurley, as well Kate Atkinson, Andrea Wulf and Don Paterson.

The book has sold more than 70,000 copies in the UK, according to Nielsen TCM data, and MCB has sold the rights in more than 23 languages, including France, Spain, China, Russia and Japan since the Costa announcement. It is shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016 and the YA Book Prize 2016, and was shortlisted for The British Book Industry Awards Children’s Book of the Year 2016.