DHA Children's Classics Guide 2020 - David Higham Associates
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DHA Children’s Classics Guide 2020
Contents
For more information please go to our website to browse our shelves and find out more about
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Agents
US Rights: Veronique Baxter; Georgia Glover; Anthony Goff; Jane Gregory; Caroline Walsh; Laura
West; Jessica Woollard
Film & TV Rights: Penni Killick Nicky Lund; Georgina Ruffhead
Translation Rights:
Allison Cole: allisoncole@davidhigham.co.uk
Direct: Brazil; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Iceland; Italy; the Netherlands; Norway;
Portugal; Spain and Latin America; Sweden
Co-agented: China (Roald Dahl only); Japan (Roald Dahl only)
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Contact
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3
Richard Adams
Richard Adams (1920-2016), the son of a country doctor,
was born in Newbury in England. He was educated at
Bradfield school and Worcester College, Oxford. He served
in the Second World War and in 1948 joined the Civil Service.
In the mid-1960s he completed his first novel, Watership
Down, for which he struggled for several years to find a
publisher. It was eventually awarded both the Carnegie
Medal and the Guardian award for children’s fiction for
1972. In 1974 he retired from the Civil Service and published
a series of further novels, including Shardik, The Plague
Dogs and The Girl in a Swing.
Key title: Watership Down (1972)
An epic story that has been beloved for generations,
Watership Down has become one of the most famous
animal stories ever written.
Fiver, a young rabbit, is very worried. He senses something
terrible is about to happen to the warren. His brother Hazel
knows that his sixth sense is never wrong. So, there is nothing
else for it.
They must leave immediately.
And so begins a long and perilous journey of a small band
of rabbits in search of a safe home. Fiver’s vision finally
leads them to Watership Down, but here they face their
most difficult challenge of all . . .
Enquire for All Titles and Previous Publishers
Primary Agent: VB
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: Adams estate
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
4
Edward Ardizzone
Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) began his career as an
artist and Illustrator in 1927. In 1936 he made a picture
book of a story he had told his children – the classic
Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain. This developed
into the internationally loved Little Tim series. Famous as
a war artist and as a distinguished member of the Royal
Academy, Ardizzone is also widely considered to be the
foremost illustrator of his generation. He illustrated more
than 170 books, and as well as his own work, he illustrated
books by Eleanor Farjeon, Graham Greene, James
Reeves and Dylan Thomas. Nurse Matilda by Christianna
Brand, illustrated by Ardizzone, was adapted as Nanny
McPhee (2005) and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
(2010) starring Emma Thompson.
Key title: Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain (1936) Select bibliography
In the first title of the beloved Little Tim series, a small Little Tim and the Brave Sea
boy wants to be a sailor, but his parents say he is much Captain (1936)
too young. Tim grabs the chance to stow away on a The Little Bookroom (1955)
steamer, but little does he expect the hard work, stormy Nurse Matilda (1964)
sea and sinking ship to come!
‘Some of the saltiest and most satisfying picture books
created during the last generation’ - Maurice Sendak,
author of Where the Wild Things Are
Nurse Matilda The Little Bookroom Little Tim and the Brave
UK: Bloomsbury UK: OUP Sea Captain
Extent - 384pp Extent - 322pp UK: Frances Lincoln
Children’s Books
Rights sold: Rights sold: Extent - 56pp
Spanish – Ediciones Siruela Chinese - Bridging Consulting
Russian – Azbooka-Atticus Japanese - Iwanami Shoten Rights sold:
Romanian – Grup Media Litera Macedonian - Nampress Japanese - Koguma
Brazilian Portuguese - Editora Polish - Wydawnictwo Dwie
Schwarcz S.A Siostry
Polish – ZNAK Russian - Azbooka-Atticus
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
5
Antonia Barber
Antonia Barber (1932-2019) gained early recognition for
her middle grade novel, The Ghosts, first published in 1969.
It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, an award
she was later shortlisted for again in 1983 with The Ring
in the Rough Stuff. The Ghosts was adapted for film in
1972 to great success, and released theatrically as The
Amazing Mr Blunden.
Her first picture book, The Mousehole Cat, first
published to great acclaim in 1990, with illustrations
by Nicola Bayley, and is still in print today. It was
awarded Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year at the
British Book Awards, the Children’s Choice in the Nestle
Select bibliography Smarties Book Prize, and received a commendation
for the Kate Greenaway Medal. A perennial favourite,
The Ghosts (1969) the story has been adapted, including as a play,
The Ring in the Rough Stuff (1983) musical, puppet show, ballet and an animated film.
The Mousehole Cat (1990)
Key title: The Ghosts (1969)
A time-travelling ghost story, The Ghosts revolves around two children, Lucy and Jamie, in Camden
Town between the wars. A mysterious stranger appears at their door with an unbelievably
attractive offer for their poor widowed mother – to act as caretaker for a rundown but once
magnificent house in the countryside. The only reason they’ve struggled to find someone so
far: the local villagers are afraid of the house, with claims they have seen the figures of two
child ghosts wandering about the grounds. Lucy and Jamie are drawn almost instantly into this
mystery, and their journey takes them to the same spot 100 years earlier, in an attempt to save
the lives of the two other children before they’ve ended.
Enquire for All Titles and Previous Publishers
Primary Agent: CW
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: CI
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Japan Uni
6
BB
‘B.B.’, or Denys Watkins-Pitchford (1905-1990), was born
in 1905 in Northamptonshire. He studied at the Royal
College of Art and was for many years the art master
at Rugby School.
He wrote and illustrated many books for both children
and adults, all of which reflected his naturalist’s
knowledge and passion for the countryside.
He is probably best known for Brendon Chase,
published in 1944, The Little Grey Men (for which he
won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 1942) and its
sequel Down the Bright Stream.
Key title: The Little Grey Men (1942) Select bibliography
The last four gnomes in Britain live on the banks of the The Little Grey Men (1942)
bubbling Folly brook. They are perfectly happy with their Down the Bright Stream (1948)
quiet life, except, that is, for one . . . Cloudberry.
Restless and longing for adventure, Cloudberry sets off
to follow his dream. But when he doesn’t return, the
remaining gnomes must set off on their own adventure
to find him.
The Little Grey Men Down the Bright Stream
UK: OUP UK: OUP
Extent - 257pp Extent - 256pp
Rights sold: Rights sold:
Chinese – Hunan Russian – Dobraya Kniga
German - Freies
Geistesleben
Russian – Dobraya Kniga
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: NL
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
7
Sheila Burnford
Sheila Burnford (1918-1984) was born in Scotland, where
she attended St George’s School in Edinburgh. She
married a doctor, David Burnford, in 1941 and worked
as an ambulance driver during the Second World War.
In 1951 she and her husband emigrated to Canada.
They had three children and three beloved family pets.
These animals inspired Sheila to write The Incredible
Journey, which was published in 1961. Two years later
Disney released a film adaptation, and from that point
Sheila’s book became a well-loved bestseller.
Key title: The Incredible Journey (1961) Select bibliography
The Hunter children must go abroad for the summer, so The Incredible Journey (1961)
they reluctantly leave their three pets in the care of a Bel Ria (1979)
friend. But the faithful animals only know they must get
home again, somehow. So the labrador, the old bull terrier
and the dainty Siamese cat set off on a perilous journey
through the wilderness. But how will domestic animals
fare against river rapids, hunger, icy temperatures and
ferocious wild beasts? And if they make it home, will their
owners be waiting for them?
The Incredible Journey Bel Ria
UK: Vintage UK: Sphere
Extent - 176pp Extent - 208pp
Rights sold: Rights sold:
Italian - Mondadori Finnish - Tammi
Korean – Sigongsa
Spanish – Danos
Turkish – Beyaz Balina
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: CI
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
8Berlie Doherty
Berlie Doherty has been a compulsive writer of novels,
plays, stories and poetry for all ages since 1982. She
has written over fifty books, and is translated into
twenty-one languages. Many of her books have been
dramatised for radio, television and the stage.
She has won many awards around the world, including
the Carnegie Medal twice (the only author to do so in
the prize’s history) for Dear Nobody and Granny Was
A Buffer Girl. She was also runner-up for the Carnegie
with Willa and Old Miss Annie.
Key title: Dear Nobody (1991) Select bibliography
Dear Nobody is the moving story of two teenagers and an
Dear Nobody (1991)
unplanned pregnancy.
Street Child (1993)
This compelling story is beautifully told from two points of The Snake-Stone (1995)
view, brilliantly evoking the feelings of both Helen, in a Deep Secret (2003)
series of letters to the unborn baby, and of Chris as he reads The Girl Who Saw Lions (2018)
the letters and relives the events of their relationship while
Helen is in labour.
Dear Nobody Street Child The Girl Who Saw Lions
UK: Penguin UK: HarperCollins UK: Andersen
Extent - 240pp Extent - 208pp Extent - 240pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
French - Gallimar French - Larousse German -
German - Ernst Klett Russian – Hemiro Südwestrundfunk
Korean - Changbi Publishers Thai – NanmeeBooks
Russian – Kolobok
Thai – NanmeeBooks
Primary Agent: VB
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
9Eleanor Farjeon
Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) is regarded as one of this
country’s finest writers of poems and stories for children. In
1956 she was awarded both the Carnegie Medal and the
Hans Christian Andersen International Medal; her hymn
“Morning Has Broken” is a favourite around the world.
Eleanor lived for many years in a little village called
Houghton. The children of the village used to gather
outside her cottage to play their favourite skipping
games, and one day Eleanor went and asked them to
recite their rhymes for her. These rhymes, which have
been passed down from generation to generation, can
be found word-for-word in Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep.
Key title: The Little Bookroom (1955) Select bibliography
A girl sits in a dusty room, crammed to the rafters with Kaleidoscope (1928)
books. Sunlight dances on the covers, between which The Old Nurse’s Stocking Basket
are stories of magical worlds and faraway places, lands (1931)
of princesses, kings, giants, and real children too. Jim at the Corner (1934)
Eleanor Farjeon was that girl, who was so enchanted by The Glass Slipper (1944)
her little bookroom that she recreated it by writing this The Little Bookroom (aka One Foot in
wonderful collection of short stories. Fairyland, 1955)
This charming book is beautifully illustrated throughout
by Edward Ardizzone.
The Little Bookroom Jim at the Corner The Old Nurse’s Stocking
UK: OUP UK: New York Review of Basket
Extent - 322pp Books UK: Puffin
Extent - 96pp Extent - 136pp
Rights sold:
Chinese - Bridging Consulting Rights sold: Rights sold:
Japanese - Iwanami Shoten Japanese - Dowaken Russian - Azbooka-Atticus
Macedonian - Nampress Shuppen Chinese - Guangzhou
Polish - Wydawnictwo Dwie Bright Book Publishing
Siostry
Russian - Azbooka-Atticus
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese -Tuttle-Mori
10Anne Fine
Anne Fine has written numerous highly acclaimed and
prize-winning books for children and adults. The Tulip
Touch won the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year
Award; Goggle-Eyes won the Guardian Children’s
Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal; Flour Babies
won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s
Book of the Year; and Bill’s New Frock won a Smarties
Prize. Anne Fine was named Children’s Laureate in
2001 and was awarded an OBE in 2003.
Madame Doubtfire was adapted into a film starring
the late Robin Williams in 1993.
Key title: Madame Doubtfire (1987) Select bibliography
Madame Doubtfire (1987)
Madame Doubtfire is a wonderfully funny, punchy story Bill’s New Frock (1988)
about family life. Lydia, Christopher and Natalie are used Goggle-Eyes (1989)
to domestic turmoil. Their parents’ divorce has not made Flour Babies (1992)
family life any easier in either home. The Diary of a Killer Cat (1994)
The children bounce to and from their volatile mother, Step by Wicked Step (1995)
Miranda, and their out-of-work actor father, Daniel. Then The Tulip Touch (1996)
Miranda advertises for a cleaning lady who will mind the Charm School (1999)
children after work - and Daniel gets the job, disguised Roll Over Rolly (1999)
as Madame Doubtfire. Notso Hotso (2001)
Ivan the Terrible (2007)
Madame Doubtfire The Diary of a Killer Cat Bill’s New Frock
UK: Puffin UK: Puffin UK: Puffin
Extent - 256pp Extent - 64 Extent - 128pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
Enquire for all rights sold Enquire for all rights sold Romanian - Editura
Paralela 45
Korean - BIR Publishing Co
Spanish - Santillana
Chinese - New Buds
Primary Agent: AG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: GR
Subagents:
Chinese -Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
11Pauline Fisk
Pauline Fisk (1948-2015) was an author with a strong
sense of place and a rare gift for blending the natural
with the supernatural in ways that made the latter
seem entirely credible. Although her output was not
large, her voice was distinctive, and she found success
with her first novel, Midnight Blue (1990), which won
the Smarties book prize and was shortlisted for the
Whitbread Children’s Book Award (now the Costa
award).
Key title: Midnight Blue (1990) Select bibliography
Bonnie, a young teenager, escapes the harsh reality of Telling The Sea (1992)
her mother’s weakness and her grandmother’s hatred by The Beast Of Whixall Moss (1997)
flying to another, kinder world. There, with the mysterious The Candle House (1999)
Shadow Boy, she discovers a life that is both healing and Sabrina Fludde (2001)
disturbing. But, unwittingly, she opens the way for the The Red Judge (2004)
malevolent Grandbag, with chilling consequences. The Mrs Marridge Project (2005)
Pauline Fisk’s compelling writing is reminiscent of the Flying For Frankie (2009)
fantasy of Alan Garner and the magical realism of David Mad Dog Moonlight (2009)
Almond. In The Trees (2010)
Tyger Pool (2010)
Midnight Blue In the Trees Flying for Frankie
UK: Lion UK: Faber & Faber UK: Faber & Faber
Extent - 224pp Extent - 355 Extent - 240pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
All rights available All rights available Spanish - Mondadori
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
12Eve Garnett
Eve Garnett (1900-1991) was born in Worcestershire
and trained as a painter in London at Chelsea and
then the Royal Academy Schools. Ill health curtailed
her painting career and thus she became a very
successful children’s book writer and illustrator.
Her first book, The Family from One End Street was first
published in 1937, won the Carnegie Gold Medal and
has been in print ever since. It has also been adapted
for radio in1999.
Key title: The Family from One End Street (1937) Select bibliography
There is never a dull moment in the lively Ruggles family. The Family from One End Street
From capable Lily Rose, whose good deeds don’t always (1937)
go to plan, down to prize-winning baby William, the Further Adventures of the Family from
seven Ruggles children are experts at finding fun and One End Street (1956)
adventure. Holiday at Dew Drop Inn (1962)
The classic story of life in a big, happy family. Child’s Garden of Verses (1948)
The Family from One End Holiday at Dew Drop Inn A Child’s Garden of
Street UK: Puffin Verses
UK: Puffin Extent - 336pp UK: Puffin
Extent - 336pp Extent - 128pp
Rights sold:
Rights sold: All rights available Rights sold:
Portuguese – 20/20 (illustrations only)
Editoria Japan - Zuiunsha
Japanese - Iwanami Shuppan
Shoten
Primary Agent: JG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: JG
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
13Jamila Gavin
Jamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, in the
foothills of the Himalayas. With an Indian father and
an English mother, she inherited two rich cultures which
ran side by side throughout her life, and which always
made her feel she belonged to both countries.
The family finally settled in England where Jamila
completed her schooling, was a music student, worked
for the BBC and became a mother of two children. It
was then that she began writing children’s books, and
felt a need to reflect the multi-cultural world in which
she and her children now lived.
Key title: Coram Boy (2000) Select bibliography
The Coram man takes babies and money from desperate
The Wheel of Suraya (1995)
mothers, promising to deliver them safely to a Foundling
The Eye of the Horse (1994)
Hospital in London. Instead, he murders them and buries
The Track of the Wind (1997)
them by the roadside, to the helpless horror of his mentally
ill son, Mish.
Coram Boy (2000)
The Blood Stone (2003)
Mish saves one, Aaron, who grows up happily unaware of
his history, proving himself a promising musician. As Aaron’s
new life takes him closer to his real family, the watchful
Mish makes a terrible mistake, delivering Aaron and his best
friend Toby back into the hands of the Coram man.
Coram Boy The Blood Stone The Wheel of Surya
UK: Egmont UK: Egmont UK: Egmont
Extent - 368pp Extent - 420pp Extent - 304pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
All rights available All rights available All rights available
Primary Agent: VB
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: Casarotto Ramsay
Subagents:
Chinese -Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese -Tuttle-Mori
14Elizabeth Goudge
Elizabeth Goudge (1900-1984) was born in Somerset.
She had a long and distinguished literary career writing
novels for adults and children, which were best-sellers
throughout the world.
She was awarded the Carnegie Medal in 1946 for The
Little White Horse, perhaps her best-known work, a new
film version of which was released in 2009 under the
title The Secret of Moonacre.
Key title: The Little White Horse (1946) Select bibliography
‘For a fleeting instant Maria thought she saw a little white Smoky House (1941)
horse with a flowing mane and tail, head raised, poised, Henrietta’s House (1942)
halted in mid-flight, as though it had seen her and was The Little White Horse (1946)
glad.’ Make-Believe (1949)
The beautiful valley of Moonacre is shadowed by the The Valley of Song (1951)
memory of the Moon Princess and the mysterious little Linnets and Valerians (1964)
white horse. When Maria Merryweather comes there on I Saw Three Ships (1969)
a visit she finds herself involved with an ancient feud.
She is determined to restore peace and happiness to
the whole of Moonacre Valley. And Maria usually gets
her own way...
The Little White Horse Linnets and Valerians (aka
UK: Lion The Runaways)
Extent - 224pp UK: Hesperus Press
Extent - 256pp
Rights sold:
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All rights sold
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights:DHA
Film/TV Rights: CI
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
15Russell Hoban
Russell Hoban (1925-2011) was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He started writing at an early age, winning
prizes for his stories and poems during his school years.
He served in the US Army during the Second World War,
earning a Bronze Star, and later worked as an illustrator
in advertising. He began writing children’s books in 1958,
and since then has published more than fifty titles.
In 1968, he published his first full-length novel, The Mouse
and His Child, which was later made into an animated
film. He moved to London in 1969 (originally for a two-year
stay) and lived there for the rest of his life.
Key title: The Mouse and His Child (1968)
‘What are we, Papa?’ the toy mouse child asked his
father. ‘I don’t know,’ the father answered. ‘We must
wait and see.’
So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance
under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient
clockwork rules and are themselves broken. Thrown
away, then rescued from a dustbin and repaired by a
tramp, they set out on a dangerous quest for a family
and a place of their own - the magnificent doll’s house,
the plush elephant and the tin seal they had once know
in the toy shop.
The Mouse and His Child “Hoban is the best sort of genius.” Patrick Ness, Guardian
(1968)
UK: Faber & Faber “The Hobans have done it again: a sly text attacking a
Extent - 176pp real juvenile problem and attractive illustrations. Highly
recommended.” Kirkus on Bread and Jam for Frances
Rights sold:
Chinese - Trustbridge
Publishing
Italian - Adephi Edizioni
Primary Agent: AG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: NL
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
16Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) and her two sisters grew
up deprived of books. But, armed with a vivid imagination
and an insatiable appetite for stories, Wynne Jones wrote
and read them herself She never ceased writing and from
1973 onwards published many titles, which have been
published worldwide in thirty languages. Her magical
adventures have enthralled children and adults ever since.
In 2004 Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an animated
film by Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli, Japan, to much
acclaim.
Her numerous awards include the Guardian Award for
Children’s Fiction, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (twice)
and a Life Achievement award at the World Fantasy
Convention 2007.
Key title: Howl’s Moving Castle (1986) Select bibliography
In the land of Ingary, where seven league boots and cloaks
Howl’s Moving Castle (1986)
of invisibility do exist, Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome
Castle in the Air (1990)
attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell.
House of Many Ways (2008)
She makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on
the hills above Market Chipping, where she meets Michael,
Earwig and the Witch (2011)
Howl’s apprentice, and Calcifer the Fire Demon, with whom A Tale of Time City (1987)
she agrees a pact. But, rumour has it, the castle belongs Power of Three (1976)
to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is The Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998)
satisfied only by the souls of young girls…
Howl’s Moving Castle Charmed Life Earwig and the Witch
UK: HarperCollins UK: HarperCollins UK: HarperCollins
Extent - 304pp Extent - 288pp Extent - 133pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
Enquire for All Titles and Finnish - WSOY Italian - Adriano Salani
Previous Publishers French - Gallimard Japanese - Tokuma
Spain - Anaya Shoten
Ukranian - Vydavnyctvo Korean - Sigongsa
Starogo Levai
Primary Agent: VB
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese -Tuttle-Mori
17Clive King
Clive King (1924-2018) was born in Richmond, Surrey.
In 1926 he moved with his parents to a farm in Kent,
alongside which was an abandoned chalk-pit, which
later became the setting for Stig of the Dump.
Thereafter he went to King’s School, Rochester, Downing
College, Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and
African Studies, London.
From 1943 to 1947 he served in the Royal Navy,
travelling widely and civilian postings as an officer of
the British Council took him to Amsterdam, Belfast,
Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut, Dhaka and Madras.
Key title: Stig of the Dump (1946) Select bibliography
Barney is a solitary little boy, given to wandering off by The Town that Went South (1959)
himself. One day he is lying on the edge of a disused Stig of the Dump (1962)
chalk-pit when it gives way and he lands in a sort of The 22 Letters (1966)
cave. Here he meets ‘somebody with a lot of shaggy
hair and two bright black eyes’ wearing a rabbit skin
and speaking in grunts. He names him Stig. Of course,
nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about
Stig but, for Barney, cave-man Stig is totally real. They
become great friends, learning each other’s ways and
embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures.
Stig of the Dump is illustrated by Edward Ardizzone.
Stig of the Dump The Town that Went South
UK: Puffin UK: Atheneum Books
Extent - 263pp Extent - 213pp
Rights sold: Rights sold:
Spanish - Editorial Casals All rights available
Korean - Bomnamu
Primary Agent: CW
Translation Rights:DHA
Film/TV Rights: NL
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Japan Uni
18Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively is a novelist, short story writer and
author of children’s books. Her novels have won several
literary awards, including the Booker Prize for Moon
Tiger in 1987. The Road to Lichfield and According to
Mark were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Her children’s book The Ghost of Thomas Kempe was
awarded the Carnegie Medal, and A Stitch in Time
won a Whitbread Award. Family Album was shortlisted
for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010.
Key title: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973) Select bibliography
James is fed up. His family has moved to a new cottage –
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (1973)
with grounds that are great for excavations, and trees that
The House in Norham Gardens (1974)
are perfect for climbing – and stuff is happening. Stuff that
A Stitch in Time (1976)
is normally the kind of thing he does. But it’s not him who’s
writing strange things on shopping lists and fences. It’s not
him who smashes bottles and pours tea in the Vicar’s lap.
It’s a ghost – honestly. Thomas Kempe, the 17th century
apothecary, has returned and he wants James to be his
apprentice. No one else believes in ghosts. It’s up to James
to get rid of him. Or he’ll have no pocket money or pudding
ever again.
The Ghost of Thomas A Stich in Time The House in Norham
Kempe UK: HarperCollins Gardens
UK: Egmont Extent - 160pp UK: Puffin
Extent - 256pp Extent - 304pp
Rights sold:
Rights sold: Chinese - Shanghai Cai Rights sold:
Italian - Adriano Salani Qin Ren Culture Diffusion Japan – Goblin Shobo
Company
Italian - Ugo Guanda
Editore
Primary Agent: LK
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: NL
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
19Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best loved writers
for children. He has written over 130 books including
The Butterfly Lion, Kensuke’s Kingdom, Why the Whales
Came, Private Peaceful, Shadow, and War Horse, which
was adapted for a hugely successful stage production
by the National Theatre and then, in 2011, for a film
directed by Steven Spielberg. Michael was Children’s
Laureate from 2003 to 2005. The charity Farms for City
Children, which he founded thirty years ago with his
wife Clare, has now enabled over 70,000 children to
spend a week living and working down on the farm.
Key title: Private Peaceful (2001) Select bibliography
Told in the voice of Private Tommo Peaceful, the story follows
Long Way Home (1975)
twenty-four hours at the front, and captures his memories of
Robin of Sherwood (1996)
his family and his village life by no means as tranquil as it
Kensuke’s Kingdom (1999)
appeared.
Out of the Ashes (2001)
Full of vivid detail and engrossing atmosphere, leading to a Private Peaceful (2001)
dramatic and moving conclusion, Private Peaceful is both Cool! (2002)
a compelling love story and a deeply moving account of Born to Run (2006)
the First World War. Running Wild (2009)
Private Peaceful Kensuke’s Kingdom Running Wild
UK: HarperCollins UK: HarperCollins UK: HarperCollins
Extent - 208pp Extent - 176pp Extent - 352pp
Enquire for All Titles and Previous Publishers
Primary Agent: VB
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: Berlin Associates
Subagents:
Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
20Philippa Pearce
Philippa Pearce (1920-2006) was awarded the OBE in
1997 for her services to children’s literature. Her book
Tom’s Midnight Garden won the Carnegie Medal in
1958 and has remained in print ever since. In 2008 this
was celebrated with a special 50th Anniversary Edition,
and the first Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture at
Homerton College, Cambridge.
Until her death she lived near Cambridge, opposite
the house where she spent her childhood and which
features in Tom’s Midnight Garden.
Key title: The Way to Satin Shore (1983) Select bibliography
Kate never knew her dad, but that doesn’t stop her Tom’s Midnight Garden (1958)
missing him. She often secretly visits the gravestone with The Elm Street Lot (1969)
his name on it. But when the gravestone disappears Kate The Squirrel Wife (1971)
has a mystery on her hands. She has to find out what has What the Neighbours Did and Other
happened and as she delves deeper into her family’s Stories (1972)
past, she realizes that there are many secrets to uncover Lion at School and Other Stories
and that all the clues point to one place. As Kate races (1973)
to Sattin Shore her mind is a whirl of emotions: what she The Way to Sattin Shore (1983)
finds there will change the shape of her life for ever. The Little Gentleman (2004)
The Little Gentleman Mrs Cockle’s Cat Minnow on the Say
UK: Puffin UK: Jane Nissen UK: Oxford University Press
Extent - 160pp Extent - 320pp Extent - 272pp
Rights sold: Rights sold: Rights sold:
German - Aladin Japanese - Tokuma Japanese - Kodansha
Hebrew - Paamon Korean - Nonjang
Italian - Adriano Salani Turkish - Beyaz Balina
Japanese - Iwanami
Korean - Sigongsa
Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: GR
Subagents:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
21
21Geoffrey Trease
Geoffrey Trease (1909-1998) was born in Nottingham in
1909. While at school he produced his own British Boys’
Magazine. This featured “stories of adventure and British
pluck from all corners of the globe”. Later he won a
classics scholarship to Oxford but gave it up to go and
work in London as a social worker in the East End and a
struggling journalist on the Bloomsbury fringes. He became
a teacher, but soon returned to a writing career.
His first book, Bows Against the Barons, was published
when he was 25 and he went on to write over 100 books
for both children and adults. He never lost his energy and
creativity and delighted generations of young readers.
He was one of the first authors who deliberately set out
to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong
leading characters of both sexes
Key title: Cue for Treason (1937) Select bibliography
Fleeing from the evil Sir Philip Morton, Peter Brownrigg Bows Against the Baron (1934)
finds himself on the wrong side of the law. On the run Cue for Treason (1937)
to London he meets Kit and the two decide to stick No Boats on Bannermere (1949)
together. But a chance discovery endangers their lives Trumpets in the West (1994)
and soon Peter is deep in murderous plots, secrets and
even treason.
Set in the turbulent days of Elizabeth I, this classic story
of danger and intrigue conjures up a world of mystery,
twists and turns and thrilling action.
Cue for Treason Bows Against the Baron No Boats on Bannermere
UK: Penguin Children’s UK: Five Leaves UK: Girls Gone By
Extent - 368pp Publication Extent - 218pp
Extent - 166pp
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Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: PK
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Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Tuttle-Mori
22Robert Westall
Robert Westall (1929-1993) made a sensational debut with
The Machine Gunners in 1975. It won the Carnegie Medal
and Westall established an international reputation. His
books have been translated into many languages and
dramatised for television. He won The Smarties Prize, the
Guardian Award and was twice awarded The Carnegie
Medal.
In 2006 an exhibition devoted to Westall’s work was on
show at Seven Stories, the Centre for the Children’s Book,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, close to where he was born and
brought up. Published to coincide with the exhibition, the
story of his childhood is told in his autobiographical writings
The Making of Me
Key title: Kingdom by the Sea (1990) Select bibliography
When a bomb during an air raid destroys Harry’s home and
The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral
kills his family, he knows that he is all alone in the world and
(1989)
has only himself to rely on. Anxious that he will be sent to
Stormsearch (1990)
live with his fussy Cousin Elsie he goes on the run across the
war-battered land of North East England, his only friend in
Kingdom by the Sea (1990)
his journey a stray dog that he meets on the beach. Will Gulf (1992)
Harry ever find a place to call home again, or will he be on Falling into Glory (1993)
the run forever? The Night Mare (1995)
Blizzard (1996)
‘A writer who managed to combine literary excellence with
a talent for capturing the imagination and interest of child,
and in particular, young adult readers’ – Julia Eccleshare,
The Times
The Kingdom by the Sea Gulf The Night Mare
UK: HarperCollins UK: DHA UK: DHA
Extent - 257pp Extent - 95pp Extent - 126pp
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23T. H. White
T. H. White (1906-1964) was born in Bombay, India, where
his father was a member of the Indian Civil Service, and
was educated at Cheltenham and Queen’s College,
Cambridge. He was an English master at Stowe School
from 1930 to 1936, and while there, completed his first real
critical success, England Have My Bones, which was an
autobiographical account of his country life.
He afterward devoted himself exclusively to writing and to
studying such obscure subjects as the Arthurian legends,
which were to provide the material for his books. White was
reclusive by nature, often isolating himself for long periods
from human society, and spending his time hunting, fishing,
and looking after his strange collection of pets.
Key title: The Once and Future King (1938-1970) Select bibliography
T.H. White’s masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is The Sword in the Stone (1938)
an abiding classic. Here all five volumes that make up The Witch in the Wood, a.k.a The
the story are published together in a single volume, as Queen of Air and Darkness (1939)
White himself always wished. The Ill-Made Knight (1940)
This is the tale of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Mistress Marsham’s Repose (1946)
Merlyn and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and The Elephant and the Kangaroo
men who fly; of knights, wizardry and war. (1947)
The Candle in the Wind (1958)
Contains The Sword in the Stone, The Witch in the Wood, The Book of Merlyn (1970)
The Ill-Made Knight, The Candle in the Wind and The
Book of Merlyn.
The Once and Future King Mistress Marsham’s The Elephant and the
UK: Penguin Children’s Repose Kangaroo
Extent - 864pp UK: Random House UK: Penguin
Children’s Extent - 240pp
Extent - 274pp
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Primary Agent: GG
Translation Rights: DHA
Film/TV Rights: GR
Subagent:
Chinese - Andrew Nurnberg Associates Japanese - Japan Uni
24Richard Adams
Edward Ardizzone
Antonia Barber
BB
Sheila Burnford
Berlie Doherty
Eleanor Farjeon
Anne Fine
Pauline Fisk
Eve Garnett
Jamila Gavin
Elizabeth Goudge
Russell Hoban
Diana Wynne Jones
Clive King
Penelope Lively
Michael Morpurgo
Phillipa Pearce
Geoffrey Trease
Robert Westall
T. H. WhiteYou can also read
