Piccadilly Press scoops 'delightfully playful' illustrated series by McLaren

Piccadilly Press has scooped the Watts & Whiskerton, a highly illustrated series by Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlisted author and illustrator Meg McLaren. It will be McLaren’s debut young fiction series, and follows a dog and cat detective duo "solving mysteries and making mischief".

Ella Whiddett, commissioning editor at Piccadilly Press, acquired world English rights in print, e-book and audiobook, securing a three-book deal from Alice Williams at Alice Williams Literary. The first book in the series, Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure, will be publishing in September 2024, with the sequel following in 2025 and the third instalment coming in 2026.

The synopsis for the first book says: "Watts doesn’t think he’s got what it takes to be a great detective like his parents. Until he befriends Pearl Whiskerton, a curious cat with a nose for mysteries, who persuades him to help her investigate a series of strange goings-on at Whiskerton Manor."

McLaren has published multiple picture books, including Life Is Magic (Andersen Press), which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2017, and most recently Wee Unicorn (Hodder Children’s Books). She commented: "The Piccadilly Press team have been a joy to work with and I can’t wait for readers to meet my new detective duo."

Whiddett added: "Working with Meg has been so fun and she has created a playful pastiche of the classic detective genre for a new young audience, full of gentle humour and gorgeous two-colour illustrations."