NEWS


London Book Fair 2023 The headlines


Walker Books bags newest from Bologna Ragazzi Award winners Jeffers and Winston


Melina Spanoudi @mspanoudi


W


alker Books has scooped A Dictionary Story, a “spectacular


homage to the writen word” that reunites Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston, the two creators behind the Walker-published 2017 Bologna Ragazzi Award-winning A Child of Books.


Picture books publisher and creative director Deirdre McDermot acquired world rights from Paul Moreton at Bell Lomax Moreton. The book will publish in August 2024.


The title is described as an “enthralling adventure and tpographical delight”, with the synopsis reading: “Dictionary wishes she could tell a story just like the other books. So, one day, she decides to bring her words to life. How exciting it is, she


thinks, that an adventure is finally happening on her very own pages! But what will she do when her words get into a jumble, caus- ing the most enormous tantrum to explode?” It adds that the creators achieve “an immersive and unforgetable reading experi- ence that celebrates the endless possibilit of words”. Jeffers and Winston said: “What a delight it has been working together again on a new book, exploring our shared love of words and the joy to be found in literature. We have spent the past five years creating a new tale that we are really happy with; a tale that playfully brings a dictionary to life in unexpected and magical ways.” McDermot added: “To dance


SAM WINSTON WILL REVIVE HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH OLIVER JEFFERS


Piccadilly picks Peck’s middle-grade fiction P 06


iccadilly Press has snapped up a middle-grade fantasy title by author and illustrator Hannah


Peck, her first book for older readers. Ruth Bennett, editorial director,


acquired world all-language rights from Katie Blagden at The Bright Agency in The River Thief. The title is slated for an October 2024 launch. As an author/illustrator, Peck has


published three titles in her Katie on the Case series aimed at ages five to eight, also for Piccadilly. She has also been the illustrator on more than 30 projects across picture books and middle-grade. The River Thief opens when


Adderley discovers Ef, a being who 20th October 2023


together again with Oliver and Sam on their new picture book is a complete creative privilege... the thrill of watching the pictures and the words come together on the page makes A Dictionary Story a remarkable and memorable picture book.”


seems part human and part fish, in the river by her home. She is then drawn into an adventure that “upturns everything she thought she knew about the world”. Ef is search- ing for a special stone that is said to have been stolen from their people. Could this be the key to the drought that is destroying Adderley’s home? Peck said: “The River Thief was


inspired by a folktale from near my home town in Hampshire, in which a sailor is followed from the sea to his village by a revenge-seeking mermaid. The book is a fundamentally human story of conflicting beliefs and desires, culminating in a reckoning with the past.” Bennett added: “Peck’s storytelling


matches her incredible talent for illus- tration. The combination of the two make this a truly beautiful package.”


Day Planner


Sports and Reading 15.00


Guest of Honour Pavilion Forum, Level 1


The most influential


Slovenian on the world stage? It might not be PM Robert Golob but Aleksander Čeferin, who is currently in his third term as president of UEFA, European


football’s governing body. Čeferin has been broadly seen as a good leader,


following the scandal- ridden Michel Platini regime, with his


astute handling of the attempted breakaway European Super


League and extending the organisation’s


reach beyond football. FBF director Juergen Boos will be in discus- sion with him on the intersection between


football and writing— and the commonalities of book fairs and foot- ball tournaments.


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