the London publishing scene means “we’re listening in a slightly different way”.


There is also huge emphasis on collaboration between the nine close-knit members of staff. Cunningham explains: “We all multi-task. We aren’t structured, so a book goes from department to department and every- body’s job finishes when it leaves their department. It’s an organic unit where everybody has a voice and is invested, from the moment the book comes in, to the moment that it’s published, and way beyond.” Editorial director Rachel Leyshon says the fact that everyone feels “empowered and inspired to make a difference”, and able to focus on “books that really are for children, not any kind of target or turnover”, has created a “no-fear culture which you don’t oſten get in the bigger places”, boosting risk-taking and innovation.


A helping hand


In 2005, Chicken House was bought by Scholastic Inc. Bagenal says the firm has a “wonderful relationship” with the US company, adding: “We are within a huge organisation that enables us to be as independent as we want.” Leyshon feels that Scholastic’s backing, alongside Bagenal’s rights work, enables Chicken House to be “small, but with global reach”. The company sells subsidi- ary world rights directly to overseas publishers, and in 2010 Chicken House Deutschland, a collaboration with leading German publisher Carlsen Verlag, was launched. It also develops fiction for (and from) the screen through its production company, Chicken House Entertainment. Bagenal says there has been a concerted effort to become “much more international in the way we acquire projects”, with China an exciting new area for the publisher. Last year it published the first novel in


20


Years in business for Chicken House; it was bought by Scholastic Inc in its fifth year of trading


10


Years the publisher has run the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction competition, with alumna including Costa winner Jasbiner Bilan


Chinese author Chen Jiatong’s White Fox series (translated by Jennifer Feeley), and in August a partnership with the largest children’s group in China, China Children’s Press & Publication Group, will launch, jointly publishing Chicken House titles in a variet of formats. The collaboration came about following Cunningham’s trip to the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair. He says: “I talked to Chinese publishers and it became clear our atitudes and the way that we publish was quite different. We thought it would be great to co-operate so that we could introduce a different world of storytelling.”


Débuts are another strength,


and there are several on this year’s publishing list—includ- ing works by Angharad Walker, Ben Oliver and Holly Rivers—joining Bilan’s second book and Christopher Edge’s first title with Chicken House, which originated from the publisher’s Big Idea Competition, run with liter- ary agency The Blair Partnership. Selected contemporary classics from Chicken House’s backlist will also be reissued throughout 2020: Funke’s Inkheart, with new cover art by Karl James Mountford; Brooks’ first novel, Martn Pig; and Melvin Burgess’ book adaptation of “Billy Elliot”. Other projects for Chicken House’s 20th anniversary include a book scheme with charit Coram Beanstalk—to provide free books to young readers in need across the UK—and a new online hub for schools that will connect them directly with authors, as well as offering classroom and reading club materials.


Flying high


LEYSHON SHARE A CHAT; ABOVE CHICKEN HOUSE AUTHORS PREPARE FOR A SELFIE


TheBookseller.com BARRY CUNNINGHAM AND RACHEL


Looking ahead, Cunningham asserts that the future for Chicken House is “always new forms of storytelling” rather than “becoming big and corporate”, adding: “That preserves what I always wanted to do. So, the dream is to carry on the dream.” Leyshon concurs that the aim going forward is “to add diversit to the books that we publish, finding new ways of telling stories through different collaborations, and finding new ways of geting them to readers”. Hickman says: “There is an enormous amount of experience and talent in our litle company and I hope we can continue to develop our staff. We just want to stay interesting, quirky, exciting, a bit different.” Reflecting on the origins of Chicken House, Cunningham says: “It’s hard starting your own company from nothing, even with the background I had, but it’s been worth it. It’s been great to be able to craſt a list which reaches out to people, which uses new talent to tell those stories, and to go beyond the established routes. It’s been really fun—I have never felt this was a job, really.” Bagenal adds: “One of the key things is that we all still really love what we do. So, may we carry on for another 20 years, or 200!”


Chicken House Three 2020 débuts


The Ash House Angharad Walker A new boy joins the gang of children living in the shad- ows of the secre- tive Ash House. Can his newfound friendships defeat the darkness that descends with the arrival of the Doctor?


Demelza and the Spectre Detectors Holly Rivers Demelza loves science, but she has a distinctly unscientific skill: she can summon ghosts. When Grandma Maeve is kidnapped, Demelza and her best friend must solve a deadly mystery.


The Loop Ben Oliver Luka is stuck in hi-tech prison the Loop, facing a death sentence. Then he hears rumours of war, and the govern- ment-issued rain stops falling...


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