HCCB acquires six more 'charming and exciting' titles from James

HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired six more "charming and exciting" new titles from Anna James, to follow 2023’s final novel in the Pages & Co series. 

Nick Lake, fiction publisher, acquired world rights in all languages to a new fantasy quartet The Whetherwhy Chronicles, plus a return to the world of Alice in Wonderland in Alice with a Why, and one as-yet-untitled retelling from Claire Wilson at RCW. The first volume in The Whetherwhy Chronicles will publish in autumn 2024, supported by a major marketing campaign, followed by Alice with a Why in spring 2025, to coincide with the 160th anniversary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The deal takes James’ publishing with HarperCollins Children’s Books all the way to 2029. 

The Whetherwhy Chronicles are set in a world where magic grows from the seasons and is governed by four Guilds. When Juniper is discovered to be an enchanter she is taken to the capital to be enrolled at the Academy of Magic, but her twin Rafferty is determined not to be left behind and becomes an apprentice at a nearby bookbindery. As they both learn more about the magic and society of Whetherwhy, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems. 

In Alice with a Why, it is 1924 and Alice’s granddaughter, Alyce, has been sent to live with her grandmother after her father has been killed in war. Soon Alyce finds herself tumbling into Wonderland, a place she’s often heard her grandmother talk about. But the Wonderland she finds is not the colourful world she’s heard stories of, but a world ravaged by war — of broken chessboards and empty tea parties. Alyce meets new and old characters as she travels across Wonderland to try and put things right. 

Lake said: “Anna is one of the shining lights of children’s books today, and I am thrilled to be adding six more of her charming, exciting, child-focused novels to the HarperCollins list. The Whetherwhy Chronicles are exactly the kind of fantasy I’d have loved as a child: full of magic and peril, but also comfort and inspiration, alongside wonderful settings and characters you come to think of as friends. And Alice with a Why is a truly astonishing, hilarious and deeply touching feat of literary ventriloquism. Told in a voice that uncannily captures the original, its post-First World War setting nevertheless makes it a revisiting more than a retelling, and one that brings a resonance and relevance to the tale that is truly beautiful. It’s going to be an exciting six years of publishing.” 

James said: “I am delighted to be continuing my writing journey with Nick and HarperCollins with these next six books. The Whetherwhy Chronicles are an homage to the fantasy books I loved as a child; adventurous and epic and cosy all at the same time. And I have long wanted to return to Wonderland after visiting in Pages & Co and am excited for readers to meet my Alyce and her story.”