McLachlan moves to Egmont for middle-grade debut

Jenny McLachlan has moved to Egmont for her middle-grade debut, in a six-figure pre-empt. 

Ali Dougal, fiction publishing director at Egmont, struck the deal for world rights in The Land of Roar and one further title in a "standout" fantasy series, with Julia Churchill of AM Heath.

The first book will publish in September 2019 in a paperback edition illustrated by Ben Mantle, with flaps, colour maps and internal artwork. It will be supported by a far-reaching marketing and PR campaign, and is Egmont’s biggest fiction title for Frankfurt Book Fair 2018.

The story centres around twins Arthur and Rose Trout, who discover that the imaginary world of their childhood is real.

Dougal said: "We’ve been searching for something as magical, uplifting and funny as this for some time, and Julia’s pitch email was so strong that I shared the script with the whole team immediately, including our colleagues at Hardie Grant Egmont in Australia, who we’ll be collaborating with across creative, marketing and PR. In The Land of Roar, you truly feel like you’ve stepped inside a child’s imagination – we knew very quickly that this was something we had to win. We have significant international interest already, with people desperate to get their hands on the script."

McLachlan said: "I’m absolutely thrilled: Egmont is the perfect home for The Land of Roar and Ben’s illustrations are just magical. I can’t wait until children have the book in their hands and the adventure can begin!"

The Land of Roar publishes 5th September 2019 in paperback for £6.99.

McLachlan's teen fiction is published by Bloomsbury Children's Books.