Knights Of to publish Kent's mystery novel

Knights Of will this August publish its first title - a 7+ mystery novel, based on the video game Knights And Bikes, by Gabrielle Kent.

The novel, also called Knights and Bikes, is set on an ancient Cornish island where Demelza and her new best friend Nessa set out to solve the curse of the Penfurzy Knights. It will be illustrated by Rex Crowle, who developed the original videogame with Moo Yu.

Publisher Aimée Felone said: “I knew there was something special about this book from the very first page. It isn't every day that you get to see two girls at the forefront of an adventure story. Nessa and Demelza have THE most enviable friendship. We are hugely excited for Gabrielle to be the first author on the Knights Of list.”

Kent is the author of the Alfie Bloom series (Scholastic) and lectures in video game development at Teesside University.

“I love the philosophy behind Knights Of and am honoured to be writing their first novel,” she said. “As a games-loving, comics geek who spent the early 80s loading games from cassette tapes and collecting bread tags for the spokes of my BMX, this was a dream project. Breathing life into Rex’s vibrant character designs for Demelza, Nessa and Captain Honkers allowed me to revisit my own childhood where adventure lurked around every corner.”

Knights Of acquired world rights, including film and TV, from Hannah Sheppard at the D H H Literary Agency, and will publish in a square paperback format. Bounce Sales & Marketing is handling UK and Irish sales and the Intercontinental Literary Agency (ILA) is selling foreign rights.            

Felone launched the Knights Of business last year with David Stevens. The pair previously worked at Scholastic but set up their own company to bring new voices to children’s publishing.

At the time, Felone said: “Knights Of was born out of a frustration with the lack of representative voices and narratives in children’s fiction. With Knights Of we can publish uniquely, putting our differences first and celebrating them, making it central to our business.”

A key aim of the business is to reach out to groups such as working-class and BAME readers by working with schools, retailers and libraries. They have also promised to hire an inclusive workforce.

“Our goal is to ensure as many different perspectives touch every title, across editorial, design, marketing, and so on,” said Stevens. “We aim to pair experienced candidates to work with more junior candidates, ensuring that every part of the process is creating opportunities in the industry.”