Usborne buys 'dark and twisting' fairy tale

Usborne has acquired the UK and Commonwealth rights to The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods, a dark fairy tale by TV production coordinator Samuel J Halpin.

The story is about a girl who goes to live with her grandmother in a town called Suds. There she meets the three peculiar women of Helligan Mills and finds that children are mysteriously disappearing from the town.

Editorial director Rebecca Hill bought the manuscript from Silvia Molteni at Peters Fraser and Dunlop, who has also pre-emptively sold the French and Swedish rights.              

“This book gave me goosebumps from the off,” said Hill. “Samuel’s imagination and talent simply soar through every word, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him to the Usborne list. Deliciously dark, brilliantly vivid and perfect for children who don’t believe in things that go bump in the night, but still worry there’s something lurking beyond the windowsill. A book every child will want to read by torchlight.”         

The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods will be released in 2019.