The lack of diversity among festive titles is something Richards had been aware of for a long time, saying she was not able to find a Black or brown elf to play the Christmas game Elf on the Shelf when her son was tiny. She knew there was a hunger for more diverse Christmas books and when she read that Roald Dahl supposedly wanted Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be Black, she had her inspiration. The initial idea was to find an author,


develop the story in-house with Richards in charge of editing, then pitch it to publishers. Priscilla Mante ( 2) was then brought on board to help write the story. Mante is the author of The Dream Team series and Football’s Hidden History, so has more experience than the authors Richards usually works with at Storymix but, luckily, Mante still wanted to be involved. “I absolutely loved the concept of adults


having their younger family members as assistants in the competition, and the various different family relationships and cultural backgrounds the whole storyline was going to showcase,” says Mante. “And as someone who enjoys writing about food, I immediately thought of all the festive food descriptions we could include. Ultimately, though, it was the character outlines that really grabbed me. I just adored the idea of a joyful, thoughtful and determined character like Mikey helping his grieving grandfather to rediscover the magic of Christmas.”


things, such as Christmas stories, have not been done enough with the inclusion of authentic representation.” Giving up, however, was never an


option, and the lack of a deal with a publisher led Richards to create Storymix Books, an imprint of Storymix, to publish the novel herself, with both her and Mante as co-authors, writing under the pen name of Serena Holly. All the beloved elements of the Christmas season are there, from the food and drink to the decorations, the elves, the sugar plum fairy and Father Christmas himself, wrapped up in a plot in which Mikey and his Gramps compete in several tasks to see who will be crowned his successor. The competing families are diverse, with Mikey’s family coming from a Caribbean background and his closest friend in the story coming from Singapore and these are reflected in the narrative and the illustrations.


R


I just adored the idea of a joyful, thoughtful and determined character like Mikey helping his grieving grandfather to rediscover the magic of Christmas


Priscilla Mante Richards and her team tried to pitch the


project to publishers as part of their packaging business, which had previously created series such as Secret Beast Club (Puffin), The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries (Farshore), Spellcasters (Orchard Books) and more – but they were turned down by everyone they approached. “Seasonal books [are] very hard, that’s what


they all said,” says Richards. “The other thing [we were told] was ‘this will struggle to find its audience’.” Mante and Richards both disagree.


“Diversity around Christmas stories is so important simply because we don’t have enough of it and a large section of British children don’t see themselves in these stories,” says Mante. “It can be frustrating to hear ‘X has been done too many times already’ or the ‘market is over-saturated with Christmas titles’. What is being ignored is that many


ichards wanted to pay homage to the people up and down the country who serve their commu- nity by putting on a red suit every December. “My kids go to a very


diverse school and when you look at our Santas, we would have a dad of Indian heritage, a dad of Jewish heritage, we’ll have all of the dads, all different shapes and sizes. Not all children see Santa in that way.” She found Italy-based artist Shahab Shamshirsaz, whose warm and commercial style is perfectly suited to the story, on LinkedIn, and budgeted for the project using money from a Deutsche Bank award for creative entrepreneurs. She also wanted to publish a hardback edition, hoping that the book will be passed through many hands on its journey, so launched a Kickstarter, initially hoping to raise £2,500. “It’s been quite a steep learning curve!


It’s nice, as someone who’s worked in publish- ing for 20 years, to still be learning.” Hazel Holmes from Fox & Ink (formerly


UCLan Publishing) liaised with the printer for them and advised on what type of paper they should use, and Fox & Ink’s designer Becky Chilcott helped Richards brief the illustrator and work out the ratio of illustrations to text. She also did the typeset- ting and designed the front cover. Storymix is now planning how to promote


the book. Richards is reaching out to independ- ent bookshops to see if they want to stock the hardback (Bounce is handling paperback sales) and has set up Santa’s grotto events with indie bookshops including Melanin Dreams in south London. She also plans to publish more books in the


future. “We will definitely publish again and crowdfunding will be in the mix as well. My ambition is that we will be able to publish those books that feel more niche or risky in what is quite a play-it-safe market at the moment and prove they can be commercial successes.”


07 Extract


‘Curtis Merriman?’ the elf asked.


‘Yes,’ Gramps replied, his forehead creased in confusion.


The elf bent in a deep bow, and the bell at the end of his hat brushed the ground. As he straightened up, he stretched out his hand and a crisp embossed envelope appeared out of thin air.


‘I am pleased to inform you that you have been shortlisted for the job of Santa,’ said the elf. ‘You are now invited to undergo a series of festive challenges. The finer details are in the letter, along with all the instructions for your nearest Santa Transport Link. Good luck, Curtis Merriman!’


The elf handed the envelope to Gramps and then, pop, he disappeared, vanishing in a burst of glitter. Gramps stared at the envelope. ‘I… I don’t understand.’


LOUISE ADOLPHSEN


Books Author Profile


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44