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Piccadilly Press has acquired The Silver Road, described as “a mythical and magical new adventure drawing on Irish folklore” by children’s author Sinéad O’Hart, for middle-grade readers.
Senior commissioning editor Ruth Bennett won world and audio rights for The Silver Road and another standalone novel from Polly Nolan at PaperCuts Literary Agency. The Silver Road will be published in paperback, e-book and audio in September 2023.
The Silver Road follows Rose, who is entrusted with a powerful stone by a Frost Giant and is swept into an adventure full of danger, the synopsis begins: “The stone can be used for great good or great evil, depending on its keeper. It leads Rose to discover the magic that runs through all of Ireland.
“A magic that is threaded together beneath the land: the Silver Road. But the Silver Road is under threat. Now Rose must keep the stone from falling into the wrong hands and embark on a quest to find its rightful owner and keep the magic alive.”
O’Hart said: “The Silver Road is a soul-deep story for me, born from the folklore that I first encountered as a young child. It’s a story that started with the image of a girl on the back of an elk, and has turned into a tale of Old Magic, ancient ways, and legends awakening in modern-day Ireland. It’s a book that sings with my love for the stories that shaped me.
“The team at Piccadilly Press understood what I wanted to achieve with The Silver Road right from the start. Their ideas were so aligned with mine that I knew, right away, they would give the book a perfect home. I couldn’t be happier to be working with Ruth, and I’m so excited for The Silver Road to find readers and fire up imaginations.”
Bennett said: “I admire Sinéad’s writing hugely and The Silver Road sees her reaching new heights. This is a vivid tale that combines ancient figures of Irish folklore with the modern world – it’s a superb adventure where magic unfurls before you as you read, but it’s also a story about how you don’t have to be the chosen one to have an impact, and about how we can all keep magic alive by honouring our heritage and our stories. Oh – and just wait till you meet Catshee! A cat-like creature with ears like ferns who is much more than he first appears… It’s a delight from start to finish.”
O’Hart is co-host of children’s literature podcast "Storyshaped" and the author of The Eye of the North, The Star-Spun Web, Skyborn and The Time Tider (Stripes Publishing). She received Arts Council Ireland funding to support the writing of The Silver Road.