Walker Books nets ‘powerful’ picture book by Antrobus and Wilson-Max

Walker Books has signed Terrible Horses, a “powerful sibling story” by award-winning poet and author Raymond Antrobus and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max.

Senior commissioning editor Maria Tunney acquired world rights to the text from Niki Chang at David Higham Associates and world illustration rights from Clare Wallace at The Darley Anderson Illustration Agency. Terrible Horses will be published in spring 2024. It follows Walker Books’ publication of Antrobus’ children’s book debut, Can Bears Ski? in February 2021.

Terrible Horses focuses on Antrobus’ sometimes difficult childhood relationship with his sister, the publisher’s synopsis explains. Antrobus writes about a young boy who fights with his older sister. To escape their arguing, the boy writes stories. In the stories, he is a lone pony, in a world of trampling, galloping horses. When his sister finds his stories, they can finally begin to see each other more clearly. 

With themes of empathy and difficult family dynamics, the publisher describes it as “a fresh and original sibling story, which encourages storytelling and creativity as a route to a better understanding of others”.

Antrobus is a Rathbones Folio Prize-winner and in 2021 he was awarded an MBE for his services to literature. His adult poetry collection The Perseverance (Penned in the Margins) won him the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and the Ted Hughes Award. His poetry collection All the Names Given (Penned in the Margins) was shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize.

Wilson-Max is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books who has illustrated more than 70 children’s books which have been released by more than 15 international publishers. 

Antrobus said: “Terrible Horses is a story that came to me while sitting under ‘The Survivor Tree’ in Oklahoma, where you’re asked to sit and think about a personal conflict from your own life and how it was resolved.

“I thought about a memory I have of my older sister and me getting into a fight as children and how storytelling resolved some of our conflict. It’s a story I have shared with many students that I’ve spoken to over the years. Working with Walker Books on my first picture book, Can Bears Ski?, was such a joy. I’m thrilled for Terrible Horses to find a home with them, too.” 

Wilson-Max said: “The creative experience on this book has been fantastic and, as an illustrator, there isn’t any more I could wish for. The text is so powerful, thanks to Raymond Antrobus, and my hope is that readers will feel what we felt when choosing one of the many ways to bring it to life.”

Tunney commented: “Raymond’s passion for his craft, his unique perspective and his gift of language makes him an incredibly important voice in the landscape of children’s books. We have been bowled over by the emotional responses to Can Bears Ski?, which has helped towards filling a glaring gap in the deaf literary canon. 

“In Terrible Horses, Raymond touches once more on the themes of mishearing, misunderstanding and miscommunication and shows that, through story and art, we can move towards each other with love and empathy.

“We also couldn’t be happier to introduce Ken Wilson-Max to our Walker Books list – he is a perfect partner for this story, approaching Raymond’s powerfully charged words with remarkable freshness and compassion. We are so proud to publish this authentic story that brings real vulnerability and real heart to the picture-book page.”