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Lauren St John is moving to Faber Children’s after the publisher landed a two-book deal with the author and conservationist in a three-way auction.
St John makes the move from Pan MacMillan Children’s Books, and has previously been published by Orion.
Editorial director Alice Swan acquired world rights for two books from Catherine Clarke at The Felicity Bryan Associates Literary Agency. Dream Ticket will publish in 2023 and The Free Runner will follow in 2024.
In Dream Ticket, the first middle-grade standalone, Roo’s father has died unexpectedly, leaving his daughter a winning lottery ticket and the instructions that she’s to "Live every minute . . . Grab life by the wings and fly". But when Roo’s dream horse vanishes, she and her aunt are forced to turn detective. Hitting the road in their campervan, they crisscross the UK in search of the missing horse and a place they can call home.
In The Free Runner, rebellious Danni falls in with a dangerous crowd but also discovers her passion for nature and a talent for parkour, a talent which might just get her out of deep trouble.
"Undoubtedly, this is a career high-point, welcoming Lauren St John to Faber, an author of such high calibre and incredible talent," Swan said. "I have always adored her books: she writes with such elegance, intelligence and emotion. I feel beyond excited to be part of her publishing journey."
St John’s previous titles include her White Giraffe, Laura Marlin and One Dollar Horse series (Orion Children’s). She has sold 665,657 books sold for just over £4m in the UK, with her bestseller the World Book Day title The Midnight Picnic (Orion) on 90,627 copies sold, according to Nielsen BookScan, closely followed by The White Giraffe on 89,362. In addition to her writing, St John is the founder of Authors4Oceans, an organisation devoted to raising awareness about plastic pollution, and creating work that inspires a love of wildlife.
"To be published by Faber and edited by Alice Swan is such an immense honour and dream come true for me that I’m still pinching myself," St John said. "I’m a huge admirer of Faber in general, but I especially love their children’s list. I’m beyond thrilled that Dream Ticket and The Free Runner will be published alongside books by some of the authors I admire most: Emma Carroll, Jason Reynolds, Ross Montgomery and Natasha Farrant, to name a few. I can’t wait to join them."
Clarke added: "I love the Faber team and I’m really delighted that Lauren will be joining their vibrant list with her wonderful new novels."