‘I am over the moon to finally be working with Firefly – a publisher I have admired from afar for the longest time. I can’t wait to share the world of this novel with readers young and old, and must thank Penny Thomas and Jenny Savill for engaging so enthusiastically with my imaginings.’
Rebecca F. John
Penny Thomas, publisher at award-winning children’s and YA publisher Firefly Press has acquired world rights in a debut MG novel by Rebecca F. John, from Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates.
Set in an alternative Britain, where shadows have stopped showing people’s shapes, but instead reveal their true selves, the novel is a richly imagined fantasy with strong environmental and political themes, that will have YA and crossover appeal.
Rebecca is the author of the short story collection Clown’s Shoes (Parthian 2015) and her first novel, The Haunting of Henry Twist (Serpent’s Tail 2017) was shortlisted for the 2017 Costa First Novel Award. Her short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4Extra. In 2015, her short story ‘The Glove Maker’s Numbers’ was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. She is the winner of the PEN International New Voices Award 2015, and the British participant of the 2016 Scritture Giovani project. In 2017, she was named on Hay Festival’s ‘The Hay 30’ list.
The novel is slated for publication in autumn 2022.