Scholastic sinks teeth into 'gloriously entertaining' vampire sheep series from Clark

Scholastic has snapped up The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Attack of the Vampire Sheep!, a "brilliantly wacky" story in a two-book deal from Emily-Jane Clark. 

Julia Sanderson, fiction commissioning editor, acquired world rights from Anne Clark at the Anne Clark Literary Agency. The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom will be published in July 2023 with the second title slated for January 2024. 

"Emily-Jane made me laugh from the very first lines of her manuscript, and her characters and storytelling turned out to be as fabulous as her sense of humour," said Anne Clark. "I’m thrilled that The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom has found the perfect home with Julia and the Scholastic team, who have a brilliant vision for this series.”

Clark is a television comedy writer best known for her work on "The Mash Report". She has also written Sleep Is For The Weak (Octopus) and created a Facebook page of the same name. Her children’s debut is a "laugh-out-loud" story which will be the first in the series for readers aged eight and over.

The synopsis reads: "Maggie McKay is not happy that her mum has decided to move from their flat in Leicester to a house in the boring village of Knobbly Bottom. But Maggie soon discovers that her new home is full of secrets. The local sheep are growing fangs, their eyes are turning red, and they’re plotting to take over the world! It’s up to Maggie, her little sister Lily and their neighbour Fred – with the help of a strange old lady called Nan Helsing, some water pistols and extra stinky garlic bread – to save Knobbly Bottom from the monster magic that lurks beneath the surface…"

Clark commented: "I always wanted to write for children because it was the perfect place to focus on three of my favourite things – madcap adventures, magic and bum jokes. And I got to put them all in The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom! As the mother of two daughters who try to make story time last all night, it was also very important to me to that I had strong female characters right in the heart of the action and comedy! I also really wanted to write a book that would make mums and dads laugh along with their children.”

Sanderson added: “Emily-Jane Clark is an author with a rare and exciting talent, and I fell for the hilarious voice of Maggie McKay immediately. The relationships between Maggie, her mum and her little sister are deftly observed with irresistible humour, and it’s a delight to see female characters at the centre of a light-hearted and action-packed adventure. We are thrilled to launch The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom as a must-read, gloriously entertaining new series and I can’t wait for readers to sink their teeth into the first book, Attack of the Vampire Sheep!"