Wilson pens first new Magic Faraway Tree book for 75 years in HCG deal

Hachette Children’s Group has scooped a brand new Magic Faraway Tree adventure, inspired by Enid Blyton and written by Jacqueline Wilson. It will be the first Magic Faraway Tree book in 75 years and the first in the series by an author other than Blyton. 

Alexandra Antscherl, editorial director at Enid Blyton Entertainment & Fiction Brands, bought world rights from Caroline Walsh at David Higham Associates. It will publish on 26th May 2022 in a hardback package, illustrated throughout by Mark Beech, plus e-book and audio editions. 

The publisher said: "The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure revisits the original magical world inhabited by Moonface and Silky, while introducing three new children and some fabulous new lands, all guaranteed to appeal to Jacqueline Wilson and Enid Blyton fans the world over. 

"Milo, Mia and Birdy are on a countryside holiday when they are astonished to discover an Enchanted Wood. Exploring there they meet remarkable creatures, including a man with a head like the moon and a fairy with long, silky hair, who live in the tallest tree in the wood. Little Birdy is thrilled to find that fairies are real. Even her older brother and sister are soon won over by the magic of the Faraway Tree and the extraordinary places they discover above it, including the Land of Unicorns and the Land of Dragons."

HCG said the launch will be supported by an "ambitious and far-reaching" marketing and publicity campaign, including "high-profile media and broadcast; creative, stand-out consumer events; beautiful proofs; multi-platform advertising and eye-catching point-of-sale kits for retailers".

Wilson said: “I had such fun writing a brand-new Faraway Tree book. I read the three original Enid Blyton books many times as a child, marvelled at all the adventures and wished I could be Silky’s best friend and share Moonface’s toffee shocks. It’s a privilege to be able to write about Enid Blyton’s iconic characters and invent new children and magical creatures of my own for new readers to enjoy.”

Antscherl added: “The Magic Faraway Tree stories are full of wish-fulfilment, wonder and delight and have been entertaining children for generations. I knew that Jacqueline Wilson was a huge fan of these books in her early childhood, and with the 80th anniversary of the series coming in 2023 I realised this would be the ideal way to celebrate it. Jacqueline’s outstanding ability to capture authentic, relatable characters, in a story that has all the excitement, fun and charm of the original books, allows readers to revel in the magic of the Faraway Tree, whether or not they are already fans of Blyton’s stories.”