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Imprint Simon & Schuster Children’s Publication 28.04.22 Format HB/EB ISBN 9781398502710/27 Rights Sold in 34 territories Editor Ali Dougal Agent Sam Copeland, RCW


Skandar Smith, our unremarkable hero who has only ever wanted to be a unicorn rider. Just as his dreams begin to come true, the annual Chaos Cup is disrupted by a dark and twisted enemy who steals the island’s most powerful unicorn and Skandar discovers a secret that could blow his world apart. It’s a wildly entertaining fantasy adventure that lives up to all the hype: fast-paced, funny and immer- sive, full of plucky heroes, sky batles, elemental magic and the powerful bond between human and unicorn. The rich world-building of Steadman’s magical universe is one of the book’s greatest strengths. Long a fan of stories about transitional worlds, like His Dark Materials and Elizabeth Kay’s The Divide, Steadman wanted a world that felt like it could exist but was a litle outside of our realit. “I wanted the characters to do magic but I didn’t want them to be magic,” she explains. “I wanted a foundational mythology through the elements.” On arrival at training school, the riders take part in a trial which decides their elemental allegiance: fire, earth, water or air. Her mythology has an internal logic, which keeps it grounded. “When you run into plot holes it’s sometimes quite tempting,” she admits, “to just fix it with magic. I resist that and want it always coming back to the elements or the bond so it feels believable.” The book is intensely filmic, from dramatic set pieces like the Chaos Cup to intricately imagined locations including The Eyrie, where the students live. “I’m a really visual writer,” says Steadman. “If I can’t ‘see’ it I strug- gle to write it. It has to be able to play out as if it’s a scene.” Relationships are every bit as


I’m a really visual writer... If I can’t ‘see’ it I struggle to write it. It has to be able to play out as if it’s a scene


important as the fantasy backdrop, centred around a quartet of


children who experience both the complexities of friend- ship and the evolution of the bond with their unicorns. Skandar, explains Steadman, “is the kind of person who leads with his heart rather than his head. He’s quite insecure about friendships, because he’s been bullied at school and he doesn’t understand how to fit in very well.” Bobby is the opposite. “She doesn’t care what anyone thinks, she has a wicked sense of humour and is extremely competitive.” Flo is the quartet’s most gentle character, oſten the peacemaker in the group. “Like Skandar, she is struggling with what she has been given with her unicorn. Her journey is trying to be brave.” Finally there is Mitchell, so desperate to impress his father that he has forgoten how to be himself. “They balance each other out, or they


Book Extract


TheBookseller.com


Skandar moved towards the Hatchery door, his legs like lead. He had a mad impulse to run back to the helicopters. That way he’d never know. He could always dream that he’d been destined for a unicorn because he’d never even tried the door. But he could feel the riders’ eyes burning into him from above, and he had no choice but to reach out and place his palm on the cold granite


do when they’re working together.”


Although the idea of elemental allegiance may recall the Hogwarts houses of Harry Poter or the factions of Veronica Roth’s Allegiant, Steadman cleverly subverts the idea. Skandar and his friends may be “chosen ones” but they can only succeed when they work together. “Yes, you’re a fire wielder but there are bits of you that don’t fit with that and bits of your friends that can help you to go on your way in the world. Learning about those visible and invisible parts of people makes us all stronger. The elements work together best.” Steadman grew up in Kent, a tpically bookish child who dreamed of becoming an author and wrote her first book aged 12, her tastes ranging from children’s fantasy to Russian classics and South American magic realism. She put the dream on hold to pursue a practical career in law, but embarked on a Masters in Creative Writing at Cambridge Universit in 2017 following an epiphany in a branch of Waterstones. “I picked up a book, read the prologue and thought, ‘Why aren’t I doing this?’ It was a really pivotal moment.” She wrote both Skandar and a book for adults over the two years of the course, finishing the adult book first and securing an agent. Aſter nine months on submission, the adult book didn’t sell. “You get all that build-up and then nothing happened at all. At the time it was devastating.” Bruised from the encounter, she dusted off the children’s manuscript and sent it to just one agent, Sam Copeland, in an email with the subject line: Bloodthirst Unicorns. Copeland loved it and the pair worked on the manuscript over the first 2020 lockdown, preparing it to go out on submission that September. Steadman’s expectations were low but the response was instant, rapidly escalating into a multi-publisher auction won by Simon & Schuster UK and US in what is believed to be a world-breaking deal for a children’s début author. “It was amazing. I couldn’t comprehend it at the time,” she recalls. Skandar has now sold in 34 territories and a major film deal was struck with Sony Pictures—Steadman will act as an executive producer. Book two is already writen. “The more I know the char-


acters, the easier it is to find the humour. How do I make it more exciting, funnier, more heartwarming? I’m always asking myself those questions.” Steadman’s writing oozes child appeal and she tries to write the kind of characters her brother would have wanted to be friends with at the age of nine, 10 or 11. What does she hope readers will take away from the book? “The message of the book is finding friends who accept you for who you really are. It’s about loving people even when it’s hard, about doing the right thing even when it’s scary.”


of the Hatchery door. For one heart-stopping moment,


nothing happened. There was a roaring in Skandar’s ears that had nothing to do with the sea thrashing against the Mirror Cliffs. He stared at the door, the disappointment so heavy his knees buckled, his shoulders slumped, and he started to step back and withdraw his palm. But as he did there was


a grinding of stone and a great creaking of ancient hinges. Slowly but surely, the Hatchery door was


opening. Excitement exploded right from Skandar’s toes to the tips of his fingers, and he wasn’t taking any chances. As soon as there was enough of a gap, he squeezed through the round entrance and into the darkness beyond. He didn’t look back.


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