Scholastic UK bags third children's book from Dara Ó Briain

Scholastic UK will publish its third children's book from Dara Ó Briain, Is Anybody Out There?, in October 2020. The book will be illustrated by Luna Valentine.

Publisher of non-fiction, brands and licensing Elizabeth Scoggins acquired world rights from Damon Pettitt at Off the Kerb Productions.

Is Anybody Out There? includes discussions on how life begins in the first place, how Earth was created, whether aliens might exist in the solar system, the search for other planets like ours, how we could ever get there, and if we could ever really meet aliens.

It follows O'Briain's Beyond the Sky: You and the Universe, published by Scholastic in 2017.

Ó Briain, the host of "Mock the Week" and "Stargazing Live", commented: "I'm very excited to be setting sail again across the skies with another book for young people about space. This time, we'll be hunting distant planets, communicating with aliens, and finding out why humans are probably the only creatures in the galaxy to ever leave a bag of poo on another celestial body."

Scoggins added: "A true space expert and effortlessly funny, Dara keeps amazing us with his inimitable writing for children and we are very proud to publish him."

Before becoming a comedian Ó Briain studied mathematical physics at University College Dublin.