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Usborne has signed Heart-Seer: The Tale of Anise Star, a "glittering" middle-grade debut from Rowan Foxwood.
Senior commissioning editor Sarah Stewart acquired world rights in a two-book deal from Lucy Irvine at PFD. Heart-Seer will be published in January 2024 with Magpie Girl: The Tale of Lavender Wild following in 2025.
"Heart-Seer: The Tale of Anise Star is full of strange, wonderful creatures; evocative and nostalgic settings; bright, heartfelt characters; and beautifully lyrical writing," said Irvine.
Pitched as Neil Gaiman meets Studio Ghibli, Heart-Seer is the first in a series of standalone adventures set in a "sumptuous and uplifting" fantasy world. The battle between "traditional beliefs and the natural world versus industry and innovation is given physical form in the most enchanting of characters".
Stewart commented: "Rowan’s writing is rich and luxuriant – she creates a world that you can fully immerse yourself in, combining classic themes with inspiration drawn from global myths and legends in a way that feels fresh and lush and entirely her own, and injecting it all with the energy and unexpected magic of a Studio Ghibli film. Heart-Seer: The Tale of Anise Star is a truly absorbing and glittering joy of a story with a cast of characters young readers will instantly fall in love with."
Foxwood added: "I hope children will immediately feel part of the fantasy world and, while there are themes of conservation and bereavement, the overarching message is that you can find monsters and miracles anywhere if you only believe hard enough to see them. I am so proud to be publishing my children’s debut with Usborne.”