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HarperCollins Children’s Books has acquired three middle-grade novels from Ross Welford.
Tom Bonnick, editorial director, bought world rights from Silvia Molteni at PFD. The deal includes Time Travelling with a Tortoise, the standalone follow-up to Welford’s debut novel Time Travelling with a Hamster (HarperCollins Children’s). It will be published in paperback in January 2024 and is billed by the publisher as “a perfect new adventure for existing fans and new readers alike”.
Time Travelling with a Hamster followed the story of 12-year-old Al Chaudhury, who travels back in time to save his father’s life. It was nominated for various awards, including the Costa Children’s Book Award, Carnegie Medal, Waterstones Children’s Books Prize and Blue Peter Book Award, and won the Awesome Book Award in 2017.
HarperCollins Children’s said: “In Time Travelling with a Tortoise, which follows Time Travelling with a Hamster but can be read entirely independently, Al’s dad is alive again, and life is back to the way it should be. At least, that’s what Al thinks. But when an accident robs Al’s beloved Grandpa Byron of his world-beating memory, Al is forced back in time again, this time leaving someone behind, trapped in a prehistoric dimension. Al is forced into a rescue mission to recover his friend from the past and to make sure that there will be a future waiting for them all. It turns out time travel is far more complicated than Al thought.”
Welford, who is based in London, said: “If there’s one question people have asked me more than any other it is, ‘Will there be a sequel?’ I deliberately left one or two little ‘loose ends’ in the book in case I should want to revisit the world and the characters that launched my career, and I am so glad I did. I am absolutely thrilled to be back with Al Chaudhury, his step-sister Carly, and the wonderful Grandpa Byron for more hair-raising time-travelling adventures.
“Alan Shearer, the hamster, is in it too, as well as a prehistoric tortoise and an extraordinary new time machine. Best of all is that, even though the story is a sequel, it’s OK if you haven’t read the first one. The adventure will be just as thrilling.”
Nick Lake, fiction publisher at HarperCollins Children’s Books, said: "Ross Welford is the master of upper middle-grade, and we are thrilled to be publishing this extraordinary standalone follow-up to his highly-acclaimed and beloved debut. With Ross’ inimitable mixture of heart, humour and adventure, Time Travelling with a Tortoise will captivate fans of the seminal Time Travelling with a Hamster, as well as those discovering Ross’ wonderful writing for the first time."