Women’s March inspires new Scholastic novel

Scholastic has acquired a funny middle grade novel inspired by last year’s Women’s March by Laura Wood.

Vote for Effie is about a girl who fights to become student council president at her school, tackling on the way issues such as gender imbalance and outdated school conventions. It was inspired by the Women’s March in 2017, which took place on the first day of Trump’s presidency in the US.

“I always knew where the story would end - with a bright, engaged, and outspoken girl marching proudly alongside her friends and family, unafraid to stand up for what she believes in,” said Wood. “Effie Kostas knows that she and her friends can change the world for the better. I believe that too.”

Genevieve Herr, executive editor at Scholastic UK, acquired global rights in all languages from Louise Lamont at LBA Literary Agency, and will publish in January 2019. More titles are scheduled to follow.

Wood is also the author of A Sky Painted Gold and the Poppy Pym series, and won the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children's Writing in 2014.