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HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired world rights in five new titles from author and illustrator Adam Stower.
The deal includes three titles in a new young fiction series Murray and Bun, negotiated by fiction editorial director Tom Bonnick, and two picture books bought by Alice Blacker, picture books publishing director, all from Tamlyn Francis at Arena Illustration, taking Stower’s publishing with HarperCollins Children’s Books into 2026.
Murray and Bun will be the first book in the new deal to publish in paperback in February 2024, followed by book two in the series in August 2024 and the third title in February 2025.
Murray and Bun is illustrated in black and white throughout and celebrates the power of imagination and the fact that heroes can be all shapes and sizes.
The action starts in an ordinary house on the outskirts of an ordinary town where Fumblethumb the wizard, his cat Murray and Murray’s best friend Bun live. Murray loves snoozing, fluffy blankets, and peace and quiet. Bun was a bun until Fumblethumb turned him into a bunny. And Bun loves… everything! And together they are unstoppable. Sometimes Murray’s enchanted cat flap leads to the garden… but mostly it leads to adventure!
Bonnick said: “Working with Adam on Murray and Bun has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had – he is an extraordinary creative force and a natural born storyteller. This hilarious new series is a complete joy – with an absolutely wonderful pair of heroes, a brilliant balancing of text and artwork on every page, and unbelievably funny and inventive running jokes, sight gags and uses of the page, these books are perfect for newly independent readers. We are delighted to be growing our partnership with Adam.”
For younger readers Stower’s picture books will be about Little Acorn and Friends and feature “witty, song-like texts, vibrant imagery and gentle, relatable messages” according to the publisher. The first title, Little Acorn, will publish in paperback in 2025, with the second title following in 2026.