Pushkin Children’s Books aims to spread its wings with Odedina at the helm

Pushkin Press’ publisher and managing director Adam Freudenheim took over the company in 2012 and that summer launched the children’s imprint, with the first books on the list publishing in the spring of 2013. According to Freudenheim, the publishing landscape at the time was missing voice-driven children’s fiction so when Sarah Odedina pictured above—former m.d. of Bonnier imprint Hot Key Books and editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury Children’s—was looking for a role in early 2016, just as the children’s list was starting to gain success, it proved to be “fortuitous timing”.

As someone who describes herself as “ridiculously evangelical about children’s books”, Odedina found the opportunity to develop a small boutique list within the imprint “irresistible”. In the four years since, Pushkin Children’s Books has gone from strength to strength. This year alone, it has seen Bearmouth by Liz Hyder pictured left scoop the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Readers and the Branford Boase Award. Meanwhile, Lampie, written and illustrated by Annet Schaap and translated by Laura Watkinson, became the first book in translation to be shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and Lenny’s Book of Everything by Australian author Karen Foxlee also made the Carnegie longlist.

Freudenheim credits Odedina with being “a huge part” of the imprint’s success. He explains: “She has a lot of experience in children’s publishing and very clear ideas of what she wants to go for. That is something that I really value, and I think Pushkin benefits from.” He adds: “The fact that three years in a row Sarah’s had books of hers on the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlist is a triumph for such a small list. I’m really proud to be the publisher of these books.”

Odedina says the recognition has been “absolutely wonderful” and that, as well as giving authors and book sales a boost, it gives the publisher confidence that it is “doing things people like”. She is the only member of staff working on Pushkin’s children’s imprint, though Freudenheim and commissioning editor Daniel Seton also acquire for the list and Bounce Sales & Marketing looks after its children’s sales. One of the positives that has come out of lockdown for the company has been that Odedina, who largely works remotely anyway, has been able to join more meetings now they are online. She says: “I’ve felt much more integrated into the day-to-day running of the company. I feel closer to my colleagues funnily enough.” Freudenheim has not yet decided what the return to working in the office will look like for his team, but he promises: “We’ll definitely find ways to make sure that Sarah’s much more integrated going forward no matter what happens with the office.”

Odedina currently publishes six books a year with Pushkin Children’s Books, while the overall imprint releases around 15 books a year. However, these numbers will go up slightly next year with the addition of a new True Adventures series and the indie’s first foray into picture books. Freudenheim says: “I’ve always loved picture books but initially I was a little hesitant about publishing them because it felt like a very crowded market. But over time as the list grew, I felt it was a natural progression.” In a stroke of serendipity, Odedina has acquired the first picture book for her list and the publisher’s first picture book originated in-house, while there are another three picture books due to be published on the main list this autumn. These are: Victor by award-winning Belgian creative duo Jacques and Lise Braekers, translated by Laura Watkinson and publishing on 3rd September; The Wanderer, a wordless picture book by Belgian illustrator Peter Van Den Ende being released on 1st October; and The Secret Life of Farts by Finnish author Malin Klingenberg, illustrated by Sanna Mander and due out on 5th November.

Meanwhile, next year the début picture book from Susie Bower, whose middle-grade title School for Nobodies was published by Pushkin in July, will be released under Odedina’s section of the list. Shoooo! follows a woman who does not like animals, but she rethinks her prejudice when she gets animal neighbours. Italian illustrator Francesca Gambatesa has been commissioned to illustrate Bower’s text. Freudenheim is “really excited” about the addition of picture books to the list, adding: “It’s a new thing for me and for Pushkin. It’s quite exciting.” He intends for picture books to be “a regular part of what we do” going forward, with aims to publish at least two to four titles a year.

Pushkin Children’s Books has also recently launched a new series for eight to 12-year-olds, called True Adventures. The project was pitched to the publisher by Simon Mason, the former managing director of David Fickling Books and a children’s books writer himself. He approached Freudenheim two years ago with the idea to commission a series of historical fiction books about real characters from all over the world written as adventure stories by a diverse group of authors. Mason has commissioned eight books so far by experienced children’s authors hailing from India, South Africa, the US and Britain.

The first titles, which were released in August, were The Girl who Said No to the Nazis: Sophie Scholl and the Plot Against Hitler by Haydn Kaye and Queen of Freedom: Defending Jamaica by Catherine Johnson. Two further titles are scheduled for November: Bandit’s Daughter: Kung Fu Girl in Ancient China, written by Mason himself; and Lisa Williamson’s The Mysterious Life of  Dr Barry: A Surgeon Unlike Any Other. Each book features illustrations as well as a timeline and map where necessary. Pushkin Children’s has world rights in all languages for the books and is just starting to sell them around the world. Freudenheim promises that the series offers “a different angle on familiar stories”, adding: “It’s a really terrific series and I’m excited to see how they do.”

A highly anticipated upcoming title for Odedina is Birmingham-based debut author Kereen Getten’s When Life Gives You Mangos, acquired at auction from Alice Sutherland-Hawes at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, publishing in October. The middle-grade novel draws on Getten’s own childhood in Jamaica and is described as “an adventure story with a mystery at the heart”. Odedina says: “I think it marks the beginning of a very exciting new writer. We’re really looking forward to launching her career.” 

Another October release is Ayesha Harruna Attah’s The Deep Blue Between. Odedina met the Ghanaian author at a literary festival in Accra, Ghana, a couple of years ago and suggested that she should write for young adults as well as adults. The Deep Blue Between is an epic adventure based in west Africa in the late 1800s about twin sisters who are separated when they are young and their quest to be reunited. Odedina describes it as “refreshing” because “people tend to write about West Africa at that time in a different way, with Africans often not the masters of their own stories and Ayesha’s turned that round so beautifully in this novel”.

In terms of continuing to build the list, Odedina is clear about what she values the most in her acquisitions: “originality”. She says: “I look for a story that only that author could’ve written. I tend to like books that have an issue at their heart but are not issue-driven. It’s the humanity in the book that I look for, particularly when it’s not contrived and it’s a true heartfelt message from the author.”

Liz Hyder picture courtesy of Anne Marley