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Piccadilly Press and Hot Key Books, imprints of Bonnier Books UK, have acquired two “enchanting” new titles from New York Times bestselling author Kelly Barnhill.
Georgia Murray, commissioning editor, acquired The Ogress and the Orphans from Kendra Poster at Algonquin Young Readers, and When Women Were Dragons from Peggy Boulos Smith and Cecilia de la Campa on behalf of Steve Malk at Writers House. Piccadilly Press will publish The Ogress and the Orphans in paperback on 8th March 2022 while When Women Were Dragons is set to be published in hardback on 3rd May 2022 by Hot Key.
"From a towering, feminist tour de force examining repressed rage and the power of sisterhood, to a magical middle-grade future classic", executive publisher Emma Matthewson said, "Kelly Barnhill’s breadth of writing is both exhilarating and astonishing.”
Following from the success of Barnhill’s 2017 Newbery Medal-winning The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Algonquin Young Readers), The Ogress and the Orphans is a story imbued with magic, wonder and adventure. It is described by the publisher as an “enchanting middle-grade tale of intrepid orphans and a misunderstood and kindly ogress who lives at the edge of town”.
When Women Were Dragons is aiming to “reach new audiences” as a YA novel examining “gender roles and identity in a world where women and girls can transform into dragons”.
Murray called them "absolute classics in the making", adding: “These are both urgent and enchanting stories that speak to our times – an ode to the power of generosity and community in the magical The Ogress and the Orphans; and a tale celebrating the power of girls and women to carve out their own paths and reshape their lives in the simply stunning When Women Were Dragons.”