PAMELA Butchart has written a brand new Secret Seven story to carry on the celebrated series, The Mystery of the Skull. A huge fan of Enid Blyton, Pamela was commissioned to create a new mystery for her favourite club to solve.

Set in the same world and time as the original stories, this story is brought to life by Tony Ross’s brilliant illustrations.

When asked by her publisher, ‘What did Enid Blyton mean to you as a child?’ Pamela said:

Enid Blyton‘s books were a huge part of my childhood. The Secret Seven books had the biggest impact on me. They helped turn me into an independent reader and were the first series of books I fell in love with. I loved them so much I formed a secret society with the other kids in the block of council flats I lived in. We’d pile outside into the bushes in the communal green and hold our very own secret meetings (complete with picnics of course – that was the best part!). We didn’t have ginger biscuits, rock cakes or homemade lemonade but we did have jam sandwiches, KitKats and plenty of Quavers.

WE are delighted to announce that two of our authors have won awards this summer. Sue Wallman won the Lancashire Book of the Year 2018 for her YA thriller See How They Lie and Sharon Tregenza won the Calderdale Children’s Book of the Year 2018 for her middle-grade novel The Jewelled Jaguar. Well done to you both!

THE Lindsay Literary Agency is delighted to announce that it will be sponsoring a scholarship place at the Winchester Writers’ Festival 2018, 15th-17th June. This brand-new scholarship will be awarded to a children’s fiction writer (YA or middle grade), of any age, from an under-represented background. The scholarship covers the cost of three days at the Festival, access to all workshops and talks, four one-to-one appointments with industry experts, all meals, accommodation and travel.

The Winchester Writers’ Festival is where Becky met two of the agency’s most inspirational authors (Pamela Butchart and Sue Wallman) and it is really important to us to able to extend this opportunity to a writer from an under-represented background.

If you’re interested in applying please take a look at the Festival website for more information – Winchester Writers’ Festival

For ideas on the kind of writing we’re looking for, we’d love to find a British (or Irish) YA writer along the lines of Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or again a UK version of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Alternatively we love funny middle-grade like You’re a Bad Man Mr Gum by Andy Stanton and adventures with heart like The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson.

PAMELA Butchart is, ‘set to go stratospheric in 2018’ according to Fiona Noble writing in The Bookseller. As well as being a World Book Day author for 2018 and having written a £1 book, The Baby Brother From Outer Space, Pamela’s new Izzy title, The Phantom Lollipop Man! is due out in February. Also coming next year is The Mystery of the Skull, the first ever new story written for the classic Enid Blyton Secret Seven series. Oh and we almost forgot Pamela is also expecting her first baby – go Pamela!

WE are delighted to announce that two of our authors, Sharon Tregenza and Sam Gayton have been shortlisted for the Calderdale Best Children’s Book of the Year 2018. Sharon’s ‘The Jewelled Jaguar’ was published in September by Firefly Press and Sam Gayton’s ‘His Royal Whiskers’ was published in the UK by Andersen Press and in the USA by Simon & Schuster. Many congratulations Sharon and Sam!

World Book Day has just announced that Pamela Butchart will be one of 10 authors writing a brand new story available to all kids in the UK and Ireland for just £1. The writer and illustrator team Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham, who together have created the Izzy series are currently working on the new story, The Baby Brother From Outer Space, due out on World Book Day 2018!

When Haroon’s mum brings his baby brother into school, Izzy and her friends are ALARMED! The baby is clearly using mind control because the office ladies start squeaking and saying made-up words. He writes strange messages with his blocks and he REALLY LIKES SCHOOL DINNERS! But it’s when he’s caught speaking in an alien language on his ‘phone’ that they know. Haroon’s baby brother is from outer space and he’s trying to BEAM THEM ALL UP!!!

World Book Day marks the world’s biggest celebration of reading, where the nation’s entire book industry comes together to work proactively to address falling literacy levels and create readers of the future. This year, thanks to National Book Tokens and lots of lovely book publishers and booksellers, World Book Day, in partnership with schools all over the country, more than 15 million £1 World Book Day book tokens will be distributed to children and young people (that’s almost one for every child/young person under 18 in the UK and Ireland).

Many Congratulations Pamela!