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Barrington Stoke scoops a 'genuinely chilling' tale from McKay
Barrington Stoke has scooped Jodie, an "eerily atmospheric tale" from Hilary McKay.
Publisher Ailsa Bathgate acquired world rights from Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency. The book will be published in May 2023 with "stunning" wraparound cover artwork and internal black-and-white illustrations from Keith Robinson.
Jodie is described by the publisher as a "beautifully crafted" novel from "a writer at the height of her skills". The synopsis reads: "Jodie never wanted to come on the residential trip in the first place. A loner at school, she’s forced into a dormitory with other girls from her class who don’t understand her. Even though they’re not trying to be mean, Jodie feels excluded and miserable, and eventually escapes out onto the salt marshes in search of a little dog she can hear barking in the distance. But the salt marshes are dangerous and Jodie gets trapped by the incoming tide. Stuck in the sucking mud, will anyone even notice that she’s gone? And where is the little dog that keeps barking so mournfully…? A genuinely chilling, cleverly crafted ghost story that is perfectly pitched for readers young and old alike."
"I was gripped by Jodie from the very first page, transported to the treacherous salt marshes and
desperate to find out what would happen to this lonely girl, haunted by the unnaccountable barking of a lost dog," said Bathgate. "It really got under my skin and so I couldn’t be more excited to bring this mysterious and engrossing work from master storyteller Hilary McKay to our readers.”
McKay added: "It’s a delight and an honour to be working with Barrington Stoke again. Here is a gorgeously illustrated ghost story set in one of my favourite landscapes. Wishing my readers wisely chosen friends, icy trickles down their spines, and something strong to hold on to, if the worst comes to the worst.”
