Faber Children's acquires YA by Irish author Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

Faber Children’s will in spring 2020 publish the first YA novel by Irish writer and illustrator Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick.

The Year the Dolphin Came is about a group of teenagers in an Irish coastal town where a dolphin has swum into the bay. The dolphin’s appearance starts to lure tourists away from the next town over and the rivalry between the two places threatens to break out into violence.

Annie Eaton, editorial director at Faber Children’s, acquired world rights from literary agent Eunice McMullen. She said: “Marie-Louise's beautifully-told story is both a poignant tale of first love and an action-filled drama. Set during the long, hot summer of 1976, it is reminiscent for me of the wonderfully evocative novels of Siobhan Dowd.”

Fitzpatrick is also the author of children's books including The Sleeping Giant (O'Brien) and There (Roaring Brook).