Usborne to publish Anderson's Russian folklore-inspired adventure

Usborne has acquired a new middle-grade adventure inspired by Russian folklore from Sophie Anderson.

Usborne's editorial director Rebecca Hill acquired The Castle of Tangled Magic and one other title from agent Gemma Cooper of the Bent Agency for UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada). 

The Castle of Tangled Magic tells the story of 13-year-old Olia, who steps through a magical doorway and discovers another land tangled by magic, where hope is lost and a scheming wizard holds all the power. Soon Olia learns that she is destined to save this land, but with time running out and her new friends and family in danger, she must search for the magic within herself – to save everything and everyone she loves. The story is directly inspired by a famous Alexander Pushkin poem written as an epic fairy tale, "Ruslan and Ludmila".

Anderson said: "I’ve always wanted to find a portal to another world – a rabbit hole, mirror or wardrobe that leads to a strange and wondrous land. The Castle of Tangled Magic is my magical doorway adventure. It was inspired by Russia’s centuries-old wooden buildings, a fairy tale in verse written by Alexander Pushkin in 1820, and spirits from Slavic mythology."   

Anderson is the author of two previous middle-grade novels with Usborne, The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear, which have sold over 171,000 copies in both the UK and export territories according to the publisher. They have also been shortlisted for a number of prizes including the Carnegie Medal, the Waterstones’ Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Branford Boase Award, with the latter recently winning the Indie Book Awards' Children’s Fiction category.

The Castle of Tangled Magic is illustrated by Saara Katriina Söderlund and will be published by Usborne on 1st October 2020.