Scholastic sniffs out two more from Stephen and Anita Mangan

Scholastic UK has picked up a two more middle-grade titles from brother-sister duo Stephen and Anita Mangan. 

Lauren Fortune, fiction publisher, acquired world rights for Stephen Mangan's text via Paul Stevens at Independent Talent and rights for Anita Mangan's illustrations from Anna Pallai at AMP Literary. The Fart that Changed the World will be published in May 2022.

The Fart that Changed the World is billed as a "high-energy, laugh-out-loud story bursting with incredible illustrations". The publisher explained: "The story opens with the king waking one morning, stretching and farting. The queen, poised to remind him to wish the prime minister a happy birthday that morning, is so disgusted that she forgets. This very small and smelly act sets off a chain of events that build and build into an all-out national crisis: and it’s up to the young prince and a girl who works at the palace to restore order and save the day."

Fortune said: "Stephen knows exactly how to make kids laugh. The Fart that Changed the World is wildly funny, endlessly surprising and brilliantly silly. Anita’s artwork is a complete joy: lively and full of personality. Escape the Rooms [the duo's first book together] is one of the breakout children’s fiction debuts of 2021 and we are so thrilled and proud to be continuing our publication adventure with Stephen and Anita."

Stephen Mangan commented: “Writing for children is a joy. As a young reader, I loved books that made me laugh, scared and amazed. In The Fart that Changed the World, I wanted to tell a story that shows how the smallest (and, in this case, smelliest) action can have BIG consequences. Once again, I have let my imagination run wild and filled the story with as much humour, drama, danger and excitement as I could cram in – now Anita just has to illustrate it all! I can’t wait for children to enter the kingdom and find out how a fart really can change the world.”

Anita Mangan added: "Illustrating books written by Stephen is so exciting. We share the same sense of humour and love of the absurd. Like his writing, I make my pictures as funny, weird and wonderful as possible and I am loving illustrating the characters that he has created in The Fart that Changed the World. Humour is such a great way to connect with young readers so I am working in as many details as possible for them to spot!”

Escape the Rooms was published by Scholastic in June 2021.