An office bug to be subject of next Shaun Tan book

Hodder Children’s Books, part of Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) has bought the world English rights (excluding the ANZ region and North America) to a new picture book by Shaun Tan.

Tan said Cicada is “a story about a bug working in an office, and all the people who don’t love him. Interestingly, it’s a premise people immediately respond to (often with “I feel like that).”

Publisher Emma Layfield, who struck a deal with Sophie Byrne at Highly Spirited in Australia, said: “This is the first new author–illustrator picture book in five years from Shaun. We have published Shaun Tan alongside Hachette Australia with great pride for many years, and we are honoured to publish his latest masterpiece, Cicada. It is Shaun’s most important book since The Arrival, and an astonishing picture book that pulls at the heart strings: perfectly crafted to maximum effect. Shaun is one of the more innovative illustrators working with picture books today and Cicada has hugely wide appeal for both adults and children.”

Tan is an artist, writer and film-maker based in Melbourne. He was given the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011 for his contribution to children’s literature, and won an Academy Award in 2011 for his short film "The Lost Thing", based on the book of the same name.

Hodder will publish later this year alongside Hachette Australia and New Zealand.