S&S Children's unearths ‘epic’ prehistoric middle-grade adventure series from Roberts

Simon & Schuster Children’s Books has landed a middle-grade prehistoric adventure series from academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors: A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials (S&S).

Fiction editorial director Lucy Pearse bought world all language rights from Luigi Bonomi at LBA in two, as yet untitled books. 

Aimed at readers aged nine and over, the series is inspired by the recent discovery that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived side by side in Western Europe. The first book will launch in summer 2023, backed by a super-lead marketing and publicity campaign.

“Set against a deadly Ice Age backdrop comes an exhilarating adventure full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping survival,” the synopsis reads. “Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards of the harsh climate. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises he might hold the adventure she is looking for.”

“Welcoming Professor Alice Roberts, a prized S&S author, to our children’s list is a thrilling moment for us,” Pearse said. “Her first fiction is the beautifully written tale of an unlikely friendship, spotlighting the personal stories that went on to impact all of human history. This epic, wild, and action-packed series is full of fascinating and tangible detail, drawn from Alice’s own research, and it is a joy to see such expert knowledge coming alive on the page for adventuring readers.”

Roberts’ forthcoming adult title Buried: An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain publishes on 26th May and will be supported by a major promotional campaign. She is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy and evolution, archaeology and history. She has presented more than a hundred television programmes including “The Incredible Human Journey”, “Origins of Us” and “Ice Age Giants” on BBC2, “Britain’s Most Historic Towns” on Channel 4 and “Curse of the Ancients” on Sky History. 

She has held the post of Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012, where she teaches human anatomy to medical students. Her other books include popular science title The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being (Heron Books), which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize in 2015.

“I have spent a lot of time imagining what it must have been like to live as a hunter-gatherer,” Roberts said. “Archaeology allows us to see how societies worked: how people were close to the animals they hunted, migrating with them; how they created art as well as tools for survival. I’ve spent time with reindeer herders in the far north of Siberia, too, and experiencing their way of life has given me insights into the challenges faced by our ancestors. I’ve wanted to write a novel for a long time and as I’m writing this, I’m reading it to my children, who want to know what happens next! I can’t wait for more readers to be able to immerse themselves in this story of adventure and friendship, set in the depths of the Ice Age.”