Firefly buys ‘darkly thrilling’ YA novella collection

Welsh publisher Firefly Press has bought a “darkly thrilling three-novella” collection from a trio of YA authors.

Penny Thomas, publisher at the independent children’s publisher, Firefly Press has acquired world English rights from Molly Ker Hawn and Nicola Barr at The Bent Agency and Gillie Russell of Aitken Alexander.

Three Strikes, will be published in autumn 2018 supported by Halloween and Christmas promotions. The novellas are: ‘The Darkness’, by Lucy Christopher; ‘The Twins of Blackfin’ by Kat Ellis, described as “a chilling prequel to her debut novel Blackfin Sky”; and ‘The Matchstick Girl’ by Rhian Ivory, billed as “a modern retelling of 'The Little Match Girl' by Hans Christian Andersen”.

Ivory’s modern take on a classic story will join a raft of other new YA versions of fairy tales including Louise O’Neill’s “dazzling” feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid (Scholastic) due in spring 2018 and Jennifer Donnelly’s “subversive" reimagining of Cinderella for Hot Key in autumn 2019.

Christopher is the author of a number of novels including Stolen (Chicken House), which won the Branford Boase Award 2010 in the UK. Ellis, from North Wales, is the author of YA thrillers Blackfin Sky and Purge published by Firefly in the UK and Breaker (Running Press Kids) in the US. Midlands-based Ivory has published four novels with Bloomsbury as Rhian Tracey, as well as YA novels published by Firefly including CILIP Carnegie-nominated The Boy Who Drew the Future.

Thomas said: “This will be a bold and striking collection of three dark and mysterious stories, shining a light on love, friendship and fear of the unknown. We’re delighted to be publishing these three wonderful authors in one volume - Three Strikes is a gripping, must-have YA read for next autumn.”

Three Strikes is published with the support of the Welsh Books Council.