Piccadilly Press acquires Wild West-set graphic novel series from Ebrey

Piccadilly Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired Cowgirls and Dinosaurs: Big Trouble in Little Spittle and its sequel.

The Wild West-set graphic novel series features "crime-fighting, gutsy girls and dinosaurs" for readers aged nine and over from UK-based author and illustrator Lucie Ebrey.

Jenny Jacoby, editor at Piccadilly Press, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to two books from Sarah Perillo at Curtis Brown US, on behalf of Steven Salpeter at Assemble Literary. Cowgirls and Dinosaurs: Big Trouble in Little Spittle will publish on 6th June 2024, followed by the second instalment in 2025.

The series centres on female friendship and is set in an incredible world where dinosaurs and mankind evolved side-by-side, the publisher says. The first book follows Abigail, who dreams of joining the League of Sheriffs as a deputy of the quiet town of Little Spittle.

“There’s just one problem: Little Spittle already has a deputy in the form of the Sheriff’s highly capable daughter, Clementine,” the synopsis adds. “To prove herself better than Clementine, Abigail becomes The Sarsaparilla Kid, a cloaked vigilante cowgirl who hunts bandits outside of the law. But when the Bandit Queen takes the town of Little Spittle hostage, Abigail and Clementine must put aside their differences to work together to save their town and defeat the Bandit Queen once and for all.”

Ebrey said: “I’m so excited to be published on my home turf as a British cartoonist. It means a lot to be able to bring my characters and the world I’ve created to the UK and I’m so grateful to Bonnier Books for their part in it all.”

Jacoby commented: “Graphic novels are such an exciting part of the children’s book market, and I’m thrilled that children will be able to lose themselves in Lucie’s wonderfully imaginative world of Cowgirls and Dinosaurs. Our heroes Abigail and Clementine show us there are many ways to be a girl and that friendship is powerful.” 

Award-winning animation director, artist and “Dead End” (Netflix) showrunner Hamish Steele has been attached to help develop a potential feature adaptation of the series.