Hachette Children’s Group snaps up Flora Stormer series by Harcourt

Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) has acquired four books in the Flora Stormer series by Isabella Harcourt, a 2018 finalist in the Daily Mail First Novel Competition.

World rights were acquired by Anne Marie Ryan, editorial director for series brands, from Hannah Schofield at LBA. The first in the series, Flora Stormer and the Golden Lotus, will be illustrated by Hannah McCaffery and published in April 2024.

The publisher says: “Isabella is a fantastic, authentic storyteller – like her heroine, she has Tourette’s Syndrome. Flora Stormer amplifies the growing voice of creatives like Billie Eilish and Lewis Capaldi, platforming this condition. Flora Stormer, a talented young artist with Tourette’s Syndrome, is helping her father prepare for an expedition to search for the legendary golden lotus – a plant with magical healing properties. But when her dad falls ill, Flora bravely sets sail in his place, embarking on an epic adventure… This exciting new series combines the magic and adventure of ’Jumanji’ with a message celebrating difference and self-acceptance.”

Ryan said: “Isabella is a talented and sensitive storyteller, who weaves magic and peril into a richly imagined version of the past. Her writing is as lush as the rainforest Flora explores, and I’m delighted that HCG is publishing her debut. I can’t wait for young readers to join Flora on her journey of self-discovery.”

Harcourt said: “I’m happy that Flora has found her home with HCG, a place where neurodiversity is celebrated. When I was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome, the first thing I did was look for a book with a character like me. Fiction has this magical way of helping you to understand yourself and others, and I hope Flora will be a reassuring friend to anyone who needs her."

Harcourt was a finalist in the Daily Mail First Novel Competition in 2018 for The Faceless Descent. She works in children’s publishing as bibliographic metadata and ONIX feed manager at DK, having formerly worked at Hachette Children’s Group and Usborne, and has mentored for the Society of Young Publishers.