Scholastic UK seizes Crosby’s YA debut This Tale is Forbidden

Scholastic UK has seized two YA novels written by Polly Crosby. The first, This Tale is Forbidden, is described by the publisher as “The Handmaid’s Tale meets the Brothers Grimm”, and will publish in January 2024.

Executive editor at Linas Alsenas acquired world rights from Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.

The synopsis said: "This Tale is Forbidden is a bold novel that upends the fairytales we know with a feminist message of empowerment. Main character Nesta and her grandmother live in the woods, safe and far away from the city, where women live under the oppressive regime of the authorities, under values espoused by The Book of Fairytales.

"When her grandmother is taken, Nesta must go to the city to save her. Along the way Nesta discovers she has the power to uncover the true stories of the past – and that makes her dangerous. Can she evade the authorities long enough to find a way to tell the truth and bring magic back into the world, liberating everyone?"

Crosby received writing scholarships from both Curtis Brown Creative and the University of East Anglia’s MA in Creative Writing, and she went on to be a runner-up in the Bridport Prize’s Peggy Chapman Andrews Award for a First Novel. Her debut, The Illustrated Child, was snapped up by HarperCollins HQ in the UK in a 48-hour pre-empt, and a few days later by HarperCollins Park Row Books in North America. Her other novels include The Unravelling (HarperCollins Publishers) and Vita and The Birds (HQ), out in May 2023.

She said: "When I started writing This Tale is Forbidden in the middle of the first Covid lockdown, life outside the four walls of my house felt extremely frightening. Writing this book – and befriending its feisty, fearless protagonist – gave me a world into which I could escape.

"From my very first conversation with Linas, I was absolutely blown away by his vision for my story, and I am utterly thrilled to be working with him alongside such a renowned publisher as Scholastic."

Alsenas added: “From the very first page, I was totally invested in Nesta’s quest, which quickly turns into an epic fight against the patriarchy. Polly’s riveting novel is a richly imagined takedown of the fairytale stories we all know well, which she re-presents back to us as dystopian twisted tales.

"I can’t wait for YA readers to discover it, because the first thing you want to do after finishing reading is to urgently press it into someone else’s hands!”

Mushens added: "Polly has created a lush, darkly imagined world for young readers to sink their teeth into — I’m excited for Scholastic to launch her to a new generation of readers."