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Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) has acquired Kid Potato, a “fresh, anarchic, hilarious” black and white illustrated four-book fiction series for younger middle-grade readers, by debut author and illustrator Neil Coslett.
Editor Jadene Squires acquired UK and Commonwealth rights plus translation (excluding Italy) for four books, from Rachel Petty at The Blair Partnership in a “fiercely fought” four-way auction. Publication is planned for spring 2026 and will be accompanied by a “major campaign”.
The publisher says the “attention-grabbing cartoonish world” is perfectly pitched for children who love ’Spongebob Squarepants’ and wacky, escapist, silly stories. "Readers will adore Kid Potato’s hilarious escapades such as tackling Gran’s toilet (which is definitely aliiiiiiiiiive) and rounding up a pack of WILD animals (on School Pet Day), all whilst retaining his world-champion record for the longest snot ever (over 3 metres!!),” the publisher says.
US Rights have been acquired by the new children’s imprint at Ten Speed Press, an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group, who will publish simultaneously with the UK.
Squires said: “Kid Potato is both unbelievably funny and brilliantly illustrated—I can’t believe it’s all come out of one person’s head! Neil is the perfect mash-up of writer and illustrator and has created the kind of book kids will toss their video games aside for, losing themselves in the very silly (sometimes gross) and bizarrely relatable content for hours.
“I’ve been waiting for a young fiction submission to come along and blow me away, and Kid Potato was absolutely it. Neil’s stories are instantly grabbable, put child-centric humour first and feel ready made for animation. HCG is excited to be sharing with international publishers this Frankfurt, ahead of a major launch in 2026.”
Coslett said: “I’m immensely grateful to Rachel Petty and The Blair Partnership for creating this incredible opportunity for me to work with editor Jadene Squires and an amazing team at Hachette Children’s Group. The idea of Kid Potato was for it to be simple and inviting to help encourage children, who are reluctant to pick up a book, to experience the fun of reading. I’m delighted it’s set to be published by Hachette, and I can’t wait for children to grab a copy so they can meet Kid Potato and his buddies.”
Rachel Petty at The Blair Partnership, added: “Kid Potato is pure fun and I’m thrilled that this laugh-out-loud funny debut has ended up with an editor who loves a potato pun as much as Neil and I do. Pomme de terre-ific was a particular highlight of her pitch.”