HarperCollins Children’s Books wins Iona Rangeley’s middle-grade spy series

HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired a “thrilling” three-book spy series from Iona Rangeley.

Editorial director Tom Bonnick acquired world rights to the Cecily Sawyer series from Eve White and Steven Evans at the Eve White Literary Agency. HarperCollins will publish the first title, Cecily Sawyer: How to be a Spy, in paperback, e-book and audio formats in June 2025.

Targeted at readers aged eight to 11, Cecily Sawyer: How to be a Spy is described as a “thrilling, mysterious and very, very funny new adventure from an extraordinary writing talent", and “brimming with brilliant illustrations” from Roald Dahl Funny Prize winner David Tazzyman.

The synopsis to the first book reads: “Cecily Sawyer has spent the evening in the attic, training her pet mouse, Mrs Maple  Syrup – an unusually intelligent mouse, in Cecily’s opinion – when her parents  disappear. Luckily, Cecily is more than ready to investigate such a thing. She has wanted to be  a spy her whole life, and has all the spy handbooks, manuals and code-cracking kits a girl could need.

“But soon, Cecily discovers several very strange things in her city. She’s not the only spy out there – far from it, in fact. And Mrs Maple Syrup is not the only unusually  intelligent mouse…”

Bonnick said: “Iona is a fast-rising star of children’s fiction and we’re delighted to  be building on the success, widespread praise and genuine reader love for Einstein the Penguin with this fantastic, funny and exhilarating new middle-grade series, which stars a formidable young heroine, a cast of hilarious spies, and several most unusual mice.”

Rangeley, whose debut book, Einstein the Penguin (also HarperCollins Children’s Books), won the Spark! Book Award 2022-23, said: “I’m so excited for readers to meet Cecily and thrilled to be published by the wonderful team at HarperCollins Children’s Books again. I’ve never  had as much fun writing anything as I have writing Cecily Sawyer, and I’m particularly happy that David Tazzyman will still be bringing my books to life with his hilarious illustrations.”