Zephyr signs Unsworth's Nowhere Island

Zephyr, the children’s imprint of Head of Zeus, has signed Tania Unsworth’s Nowhere Island, a "modern take on the perennial survival adventure, set on an island hidden in plain sight".

Publisher Fiona Kennedy acquired world rights from Rebecca Carter when she was at Janklow & Nesbit. Nowhere Island will publish in hardback, e-book and audio on 3rd August.

The synopsis said: "Four runaways – five, including Junk, the dog – are hiding out here, relying on the man-made world that speeds around them. Wild, silent Pez, who has escaped from a mysterious cult, criminal mastermind Riley, his gentle brother Grayson, and orphaned Gil with his lucky pebble and a head full of dreams. They’re searching for safety, but just when they think they’ve found it, they witness something that puts them in deadly danger."

Unsworth’s has published two novels with Zephyr, The Girl Who Thought Her Mother Was a Mermaid and The Time Traveller and the Tiger. She said: "As a child, I dreamed of finding my own secret kingdom, a place unseen by the world, where I could be free to do as I pleased. Writing Nowhere Island was a joy because it allowed me to return to that dream, and fill it with as much magic as I could."

Carter added: "It is a very great privilege to work with Tania Unsworth who, in book after wonderful book, creates magical adventure stories about the special things that happen when children discover that human connection and a love for the natural world can conquer all the bad stuff."

Kennedy commented: "Story-telling makes sense of the world and Tania is a superb storyteller. We are privileged to publish Nowhere Island, which has such emotional heart. To witness Tania’s imagination brilliantly conjure a memorable adventure in a forgotten place, invisible, yet in plain sight, is an experience not to be missed."