Macmillan Returns to Wonderland
Macmillan Children’s Books is delighted to announce an exciting new extension of their Macmillan Alice publishing with Return to Wonderland, a selection of stories for young readers aged 8+, each written by a leading children’s author, some of whom are writing for Macmillan for the first time.
Commissioned by Lucy Pearse, Senior Editor for 6+ at Macmillan Children’s Books, eleven authors have each re-imagined Lewis Carroll’s iconic Wonderland from the viewpoint of his original characters. This is a true celebration of the inspiration that Lewis Carroll holds for authors – and their readers – today.
Multiple prize-winners and bestselling authors have joined Macmillan for this exciting publishing opportunity to further celebrate The Macmillan Alice, which marked 150 years since original publication in 2015. Since those celebrations began, over half a million Macmillan Alice books have been sold globally.
Showcasing their wide range of writing styles are: Peter Bunzl, Pamela Butchart, Maz Evans, Swapna Haddow, Patrice Lawrence, Chris Smith, Robin Stevens, Lauren St John, Lisa Thompson, Piers Torday and Amy Wilson. Funny, magical and warm, these stories are all introduced with a personal note.
Lucy Pearse says, “When we first had the idea for this collection, we were ambitious with the list of authors we felt would best bring Carroll’s world to life in a new way. Everyone’s enthusiasm to embark on making each famous character their own has led to this wonderful collection. We all believe this to be a classic of the future – I am so proud of it and of them.”
Return to Wonderland is illustrated by Laura Barrett and publishes in hardback on 27th June 2019 in time for Alice Day on 4th July, and will be supported by a strong marketing and PR campaign.
Return to Wonderland – the authors
Peter Bunzl is the author of Cogheart, which has won numerous regional awards, was selected a Waterstone’s Children's Book of the Month, nominated for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the Carnegie medal. The third book in the Cogheart series, Skycircus, is out now.
Pamela Butchart’s bestselling books include The Spy Who Loved School Dinners, which won the Blue Peter Best Book Award 2015, and The Children's Book Award 2016. She also writes the Baby Aliens and Izzy series, as well as brand new Secret Seven stories.
Maz Evans’ debut children’s novel, Who Let the Gods Out was selected for Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, has sold to 17 countries worldwide, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Books are My Bag Readers’ Awards and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award. Maz is the founder of Story Stew, a schools’ creative writing programme, and Book Buddy, a book donation programme for schools.
Swapna Haddow is the author of the Dave Pigeon books, shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards, selected for the Tom Fletcher Book Club and winner of a number of regional awards. She is also the author of several picture books, including Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise, and the forthcoming My Dad is a Grizzly Bear.
Patrice Lawrence is an award-winning writer, whose debut YA novel, Orangeboy, won the YA Book Prize, the Waterstones Prize for Older Children, and was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award. She is also the author of Indigo Donut, as well as the 2019 World Book Day title, Snap.
Chris Smith is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, having presented Radio 1’s Newsbeat to millions of listeners daily, as well as hosting shows on BBC Radio 5 Live. He is the co-author of the bestselling Kid Normal series with Greg James, which debuted in 2017 and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the British Book Awards.
Robin Stevens grew up in California and now lives in Oxford. She is the author of the bestselling detective mystery series, Murder Most Unladylike, the first of which won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2015. She is also the author of The Guggenheim Mystery, a sequel to Siobhan Dowd's London Eye Mystery.
Lauren St John worked as a veterinary nurse and a sports and music journalist before turning to children's books. Her bestselling White Giraffe series is inspired by her childhood in Zimbabwe, and Dead Man's Cove, the first in the Laura Marlin detective series won the Blue Peter Book Award. Her new detective series, The Wolfe and Lamb Mysteries began with Kat Wolfe Takes the Case.
Lisa Thompson’s debut novel Goldfish Boy was selected as Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and sold in nine languages. She is also the author of The Light Jar and The Day I was Erased.
Piers Torday’s books include The Last Wild, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, There May Be a Castle and The Lost Magician, which was named one of the Sunday Telegraph’s Books of the Year 2018. He is also the writer of the stage adaptation for John Masefield’s The Box of Delights.
Amy Wilson is the author of A Girl Called Owl, which was a top-ten fiction debut, longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Her other magical fantasy novels are A Far Away Magic and Snowglobe, which was selected for W H Smith Travel Book of the Month in December 2018.