Andersen Press signs 'devastating' adventure story about the Bhopal Disaster from Walker

The synopsis for The Prisoner of Bhopal reads: "Amil has always dreamed of working at the modern, space-age pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, where he lives. Instead, on his 10th birthday, he is torn from his family and taken to work for Mr Kumar and his cruel son, Jalesh, in their dilapidated printing factory. There, hidden in a trunk, he finds a secret First World War journal. As its pages come to life, they reveal not only why Amil is there, but that he and the journal’s author – his great-grandfather, Sanjiv — share a magical gift: they can read the wind. Its purpose remains a mystery until, one terrible night, the pesticide plant leaks poison gas into the air above Bhopal." 

Walker commented: "In 1984, as a young graphic designer, I was tasked with designing the back of a pesticide leaflet. The client was Union Carbide, and the pesticide was similar to that manufactured at their plant in Bhopal, India. As I was completing my task, the Bhopal disaster was announced over the radio, and I was told to stop work. The events of that day stuck with me and have inspired me to write about it decades later. It was the first time I realised that companies could (and still do) put profits before the welfare of people. My book aims to bring this issue, and the disaster that exemplifies it, to the attention of a new generation." 

Sheppard added: " How and why would you tell children the tragic story of a chemical disaster in India 40 years ago? When you finish reading this novel the reasons and the answers will be all too abundantly clear. Tim Walker has found an utterly original and captivating way to explore the selfishness of the West and the misery it inflicts."