Macmillan Children's Books lands 'spellbinding' Hardinge YA

Macmillan Children’s Books has landed a “spellbinding” standalone YA novel from Costa winner Frances Hardinge.

World rights in Unraveller were acquired by editorial director Rachel Petty from Nancy Miles at the Miles Stott Children’s Literacy Agency, for publication on 2nd September 2021. US rights have sold to Abrams, her long-time publisher.

The author said: “During lockdown I've been escaping into the bizarre world of my new book, Unraveller. Now I'm looking forward to welcoming readers into that world. Warning — the maps are unreliable and the footing is treacherous. Try not to get eaten by the horses!"

Petty commented: “Frances Hardinge’s novels are much anticipated as true moments in the literary calendar. With each story she creates a different world for her readers to be absorbed by and here she has created a place where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, but only one person has the power to unravel them.”

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books, added: “Any new Frances Hardinge book is a significant publishing event, but, in Unraveller, she has crafted another stunningly imaginative new world with an extraordinary web of unforgettable characters and, as always, a tale that you will be unable to put down.”

Hardinge's The Lie Tree, which has sold into 32 languages, became only the second children’s book to win the overall Costa Book Award in 2015, following Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass (Scholastic). Fly By Night, her first novel, won the Branford Boase Award. A Skinful of Shadows, The Cuckoo Song and The Lie Tree were shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal while her latest novel Deeplight is longlisted for the current prize. A six-part dramatisation of Cuckoo Song has been commissioned by Netflix, with The Lie Tree and Deeplight optioned for film and TV. All her titles are published by Macmillan Children's Books.