Puffin triumphs in eight-way auction for a seven-book deal with Huw Aaron

Puffin has clinched a seven-book deal with Welsh author, graphic novelist and illustrator Huw Aaron for a "significant" six-figure advance, following a "hotly contested" eight-way auction. 

Editorial director Naomi Colthurst and publisher Andrea MacDonald acquired world rights from Anwen Hooson at Bird Literary Agency. Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob, the first picture book in the deal, will be published in April 2025, with three others to follow. Unfairies, the first graphic novel in the deal, will be published in August 2025 with two more to follow in 2026. 

MacDonald said: "To say I’m excited about Huw Aaron and launching him with the brilliant Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob would be to vastly understate the case. Seeing a sketch of what is now the cover was really all it took to know this was a very special creator who we had to publish here at Puffin. The book itself delivers on that exceptional promise. This is a key title for our rights team at Bologna, as Huw’s picture books are universally hilarious, confident, original and joyful." 

Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob is a "rhyming delight which riffs off the sentimental bedtime book" while Unfairies is the first in a "accessible and hilariously anarchic" middle-grade graphic novel series. The story follows impulsive Pip on an adventure among the warring fairy tribes of The Garden. 

Colthurst said: "It’s a joy to see more and more readers discovering the brilliance of graphic novels, and we’re delighted to show commitment to this exciting part of the children’s market by signing an amazing UK-based creator." 

Aaron commented: "Puffin played a huge part in forming my imagination and the shared pleasure of reading with parents, sister, and now my own daughters. Getting to know the team at Puffin has only served to deepen the impression that they take care of the books they make, and of their authors. I must also add how indebted I am to all in the wonderful Welsh-language publishing world who have supported my career thus far and given my imagination wings. Diolch o galon i chi gyd.”