Scholastic signs two more from Alesha Dixon

Scholastic UK has signed two new titles in TV star Alesha Dixon's Lightning Girl series.

Editorial director Lauren Fortune bought world rights from Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton.

Lightning Girl launched in April 2018 with a "high-profile" marketing and publicity campaign. The book was a top five children’s fiction chart bestseller and one of the biggest selling middle grade debuts of the year, with over 26,779 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan's TCM to date. The second in the series, Lightning Girl: Superhero Squad, published just this week. The books are illustrated by James Lancett and Steve Simpson.

Dixon said she is "thrilled" with the success of Lightning Girl and "over the moon" that there will be more books to come.

"I have big plans for Aurora Beam and the gang, it's a very exciting time! I hope that my young readers continue to be inspired," she added.

Fortune said: "The launch of the Lightning Girl series has been one of the children’s book industry’s biggest success stories in 2018, with huge cross-channel support from retailers and a fantastic reception from young readers. These books are entertaining and empowering, celebrating individuality, diversity and the power of friendship, and have laughs on every page. Alesha is a huge talent and creative force—the whole team at Scholastic has loved working with her and collaborator Katy Birchall and we can’t wait to share the future adventures of Aurora Beam and her superhero squad, the Bright Sparks, in 2019.”

The next Lightning Girl book—third in the series—will publish in April 2019, with the fourth following in September 2019.