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HarperCollins Children’s Books has signed a new three-book deal with Rashmi Sirdeshpande.
UK & Commonwealth rights were acquired by Lucy Rogers, editor at large for fiction, at HarperCollins Children’s Books, from Lydia Silver at the Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency.
Hari Kumar: Ultimate Superstar is set to publish in February 2026 with the sequel to follow in August 2026. The book will be published in a eye-catching, highly illustrated diary format, and follows Hari Kumar on his determined path to be a superstar.
The synopsis states: "Luckily a film festival competition at school gives him the perfect opportunity to shine. But can he overcome villains (the new kid in class) and setbacks to pull off his film-making debut and reach ultimate stardom?"
Sirdeshpande is a former World Book Day author and BookTrust writer-in-residence and has won a number of awards, including the Diverse Book Awards (for Dadaji’s Paintbrush, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane) and the Society of Authors Queen’s Knickers Award.
Sirdeshpande said: "I am peel-me-off-the-ceiling happy to be working with this dream team at HarperCollins. I was blown away by their love for Hari – a cheeky, British Indian autistic ADHDer with big Bollywood dreams, out there living his best life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain just how grateful I am to my agent Lydia and editor Lucy for believing in his story and in me."
Rogers said: "In our mission to make every child a proud reader, we are happy to be welcoming Rashmi to our award-winning, child-focused HCCB list with her middle-grade fiction debut."