The Real Robert Burns Author Event Competitions

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us today—we hope you enjoyed joining Barbara and Victoria to celebrate Burns Day. Here you can find all the details for the competitions—get your entries in! If you’re looking for the free Reflective Reading resource packs for each book, click here to download.

We hope you might consider purchasing copies of these wonderful books—available on our website and in all the usual places. And if you’ve enjoyed the event today, please consider buying us a virtual coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/cranachan I think the authors definitely deserve a cuppa after that!

Did you miss the event? No worries—simply click here to watch the recording!

Barbara’s Smuggler ‘WANTED’ Poster Competition

Please design a ‘Wanted’ poster for a Smuggler. Be sure to include a picture—make him or her look like a real baddie, as well as the reward, date, place and details of their crime. You could even give them a scary sounding nickname. It needs to be eye-catching and old-looking. Have fun!

• The competition is open to any primary school pupils in P4-P7/Y3-Y6—only one entry per pupil.
• The poster should be completed on plain A4 paper—no ready-print templates.
• You can enter by emailing a photo of each poster to scattyscribbler@gmail.com, or by tweeting images to @scattyscribbler using #SmugglerBurns.
•If you prefer to post class entries, please email me at scattyscribbler@gmail.com for a postal address and include entrant’s name, school address and primary class/year on the back of each poster. Please do not post entries to the Cranachan Books office!
• The winner will receive a Quicksand Swamp kit, a reading light for secret night-time reading and certificate.
• Two Runners-up will receive a reading light for secret night-time reading and certificate.
• Winning entries will be displayed on my website: www.barbarahenderson.co.uk/news-and-events/
• Closing date for entries is Friday 4th March 2022.

Victoria’s Hag Storm Magic Spell Competition

Simply click to download a copy of the following:

Magic Spell Competition Rules and Items to Inspire a Spell

Entry Form

Ordering Books for Schools

Our books are available to purchase online and in all good bookshops. Should you wish to buy class sets, or place a bulk order as part of a library refresh, we are pleased to offer the following discounts.

SpendSaveCode
£5015%15OFF
£10025%25OFF
£25035%35OFF
£50045%45OFF

Enter code at checkout, max discount on Reflective Reading orders is 25%

By buying your books directly from Cranachan you are helping support a small Scottish business and our authors—thank you 😀

For order queries email us at: orders@cranachanpublishing.co.uk

Cover Reveal: The Rewilders by Lindsay Littleson

We are super excited to reveal the cover for The Rewilders. Written by Carnegie-nominated author Lindsay Littleson, The Rewilders will be our first title of 2022 and is out on 3rd March. After Esmé’s gran accidentally steals a lynx kitten, Esmé and school ‘bad boy’ Calum, take on a dangerous mission to return it to the wild in the Scottish Highlands in this thrilling tale with themes of rewilding, conservation, growing up and friendship at its heart.

The wild is waiting…

Esme is annoyed and braced for boredom when she’s sent to stay with her gran for the weekend, until she discovers a terrible mistake. Cora, the abandoned kitten Gran found on the Rothiecraig Estate, is in fact a wild lynx kit and she is growing—fast!

Suddenly, Esme find herself on a dangerous mission to rewild Cora, along with Callum Docherty for company, the school’s ‘bad boy’, and Shug, the worst guard dog in the world.

The situation takes a terrifying turn when the children pitch their tents on a bleak Highland moor and hear wolves howling outside…

The Rewilders by Lindsay Littleson
Children’s Fiction 8-12 | Contemporary | Environment | Set in Scotland
978-1-911279-93-8 | £7.99 |3rd March 2021
B-format PB | tbc pp

Cover Reveal: Hag Storm by Victoria Williamson

After a sneak preview during our Get the Scoop: Books and Authors Preview Party back in April, we’re excited to be revealing the cover of Victoria Williamson’s new book: Hag Storm! Filled with mystery and magic, Hag Storm is a spooky, historical adventure with a supernatural twist, based on the life of Robert Burns and one of his most famous and best-loved poems, Tam O’Shanter.

We hope you love the cover as much as we do! We were very lucky to work with children’s illustrator and publishing Master’s student Elise Carmichael to bring this one to life, and we can’t wait to see it in print. Hag Storm is out on 4th November this year and we’ve no doubt, the witches will be gathering…

The witches are gathering…

In 1771, Robert Burns, future national poet and folk hero of Scotland, has big problems.

12-year-old Rab spends all of his time doing backbreaking work on his family’s farm instead of attending school, but when he finds a hag stone in one of the fields, everything changes.

Looking through its circular hole, he sees witches gathering in a coming storm, and they’ve set their sights on his family. Can Rab save his sisters from the clutches of the witches’ coven before their Halloween ceremony in the old kirk?

Hag Storm by Victoria Williamson
Children’s Fiction 8-12 | Historical | Fantasy | Witches
978-1-911279-91-4 | £7.99 | 4th Nov 2021
B-format PB | 200 pp tbc

Cranachan Catalogue Children’s and YA 2021

Welcome to this year’s Cranachan Catalogue. Curl up with a cuppa and browse our brand new titles for 2021 and our braw backlist too.

Open a book and open a door to another world: play a deadly game of chess against the cruellest Viking in the realm; prepare for the race of your life in the run up to this year’s Olympic games; face a storm of witches at the Auld Kirk in Alloway; and return to Eilanmor for a faerie battle in The Sword of Light…

Your adventures await!

Cover reveal: The Race by Roy Peachey

We are finally able to reveal the cover for The Race by Roy Peachey. Out on 3rd June, with sport as the central subject, The Race combines contemporary drama with illuminating historical flashbacks, and explores crucial themes including, adoption, racism, family and friendship. An inspiring tale of perseverance and personal achievement, it’s a perfect read for young people in the run up to the 2021 Olympics.

The Race by Roy Peachey

Get ready for the race of your life…

12-year-old Lili is preparing to race in front of the Queen as part of her school’s anniversary celebrations. Having been adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has issues to work through. When her training is thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she must choose between family and the race of her life.

Meanwhile in 1944, Eric Liddell, hero of the 1924 Olympics, finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family, he is getting ready to run his final race in a prison camp in China. But his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help…

Praise for The Race

‘An original, immensely readable take on the Eric Liddell story for the 21st century.’ 

SALLY MAGNUSSON

‘Not your typical happily ever after, Roy has written a wonderfully relatable and inclusive tale, where all are welcome, and the beauty of sport brings everyone together in the end. There are life lessons to be learned in this inspiring story with friendship at its heart.’

SHAUNAGH BROWN
International Rugby Player and Former Commonwealth Games Athlete

The Race by Roy Peachey

Children’s Fiction 8-12 | Contemporary | Sport (Olympics tie-in)

978-1-911279-83-9 | £7.99 |3rd June 2021

B-format PB | 200 pp tbc

Cover Reveal: The Chessmen Thief by Barbara Henderson

We are super excited to reveal the cover for Barbara Henderson’s sixth (!) children’s novel The Chessmen Thief which will be coming to a bookshop near you on 29th April 2021!

Win. Lose. Survive.

I was the boy with a plan. Now I am the boy with nothing.

From the moment 12-year-old Kylan hatches a plan to escape from his Norse captors, and return to Scotland to find his mother, his life becomes a dangerous game.
The precious Lewis Chessmen pieces—which he helped carve—hold the key to his freedom, but he will need all his courage and wit to triumph against Sven Asleifsson, the cruellest Viking in the realm.
One false move could cost him his life.

Barbara Henderson has woven a thrilling origin story around the enduring mystery of the Lewis Chessmen, their creation in Norway, and how they ended up buried in the Hebrides before being discovered on Lewis in 1831.

The Chessmen Thief by Barbara Henderson

Cranachan wins the race with Olympic MG novel

Scottish publisher Cranachan has signed author Roy Peachey to its middle-grade imprint, Pokey Hat, for his debut children’s title, The Race.

The dual narrative, which will be published by Cranachan in early 2021, introduces Lili, a young athlete with her own point to prove, and features Eric ‘Chariots of Fire’ Liddell, the hero of the 1924 Olympics, as they both prepare for the race of their lives.

In 1944 Liddell is getting ready to run his final race in a Japanese prison camp in China, while in present day Lili DeLisle is preparing to race in front of the Queen when she visits the school as part of their anniversary celebrations at her school Sports Day.

United by the country of their birth, and their love of athletics, Eric and Lili face very different challenges. Having returned to China, the country where he was born, Eric finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family and locked up in a prison camp, his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help.

Having been adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has issues to work through. When her athletic preparations are thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she too has to decide between family and the race of her life.

Anne Glennie, publisher at Cranachan, acquired The Race in a world rights deal directly from the author. Glennie said: The Race is a fantastic and refreshing addition to our Pokey Hat list, with sport as the central subject, it combines contemporary drama with illuminating historical flashbacks, and explores crucial themes including, adoption, racism, family and friendships. An inspiring tale of perseverance and personal achievement, The Race would make a perfect read for young people in the run up to the 2021 Olympics.”

Peachey added: “I am really delighted to be joining Clan Cranachan and am excited at the prospect of introducing readers to Lili, a dynamic young athlete with a love of running. As the Olympics approach, it’s also a great time to look again at the life of Eric Liddell, an inspiring athlete whose life became even more remarkable after he retired from the sport.”

About Roy Peachey 

Roy lives with his wife, two daughters, two dogs, two cats, one rabbit, one tortoise, and a few fish. When he isn’t spending time with his family, writing books, or looking after the menagerie, Roy is a teacher and charity worker.

Peachey’s first novel for adults, Between Darkness and Light, the story of a translator with the Chinese Labour Corps during World War I, was published in 2019 by Eyrie Press. He is also the author of three non-fiction books: Out of the Classroom and Into the World; 50 Books for Life; and Did Jesus Go To School? 

roypeachey.com

@roy_peachey

Roy Peachey

Cranachan signs debut Scottish MG author Joan Haig

Cranachan Publishing has signed debut author Joan Haig to its middle-grade fiction imprint, Pokey Hat, purchasing the Worldwide rights to her first title Tiger Skin Rug.

This action-packed adventure tale, with elements of fantasy sprinkled throughout, takes the reader from the Scottish drizzle to the Indian monsoons using beautiful descriptive writing that brings both the Indian and Scottish landscapes and culture to life.

Anne Glennie, Publisher, says she is delighted to welcome Joan to the Clan Cranachan family, adding, “Tiger Skin Rug is a wonderful addition to the Pokey Hat imprint; it adds a very welcome splash of light fantasy and a diversity in terms of characters and locations. A thrilling adventure, where the children are in charge, it is also a gift for the classroom – an exciting, whole-class read that can also be used a springboard for learning about India, other customs and cultures, and Hinduism in particular. The novel also explores the concept of home and what that means to each character – such an appropriate theme for today.”

Joan Haig

Based in the Scottish Borders, although she grew up in much hotter climates, Joan says of joining the clan “I’m thrilled that Tiger Skin Rug will sit alongside such wonderful talent. Cranachan was my first choice of publisher for my novel and I’m so grateful it’s been picked up.”

Joan’s writing dream is that her stories for children are enjoyed far and wide – and touch some grown-up hearts along the way, a perfect fit for the Cranachan Publishing philosophy.

Tiger Skin Rug will be published in February 2020, appealing in particular to fans of Jess Butterworth and fellow Clan Cranachan author Lindsay Littleson.