Gossip – Cranachan Publishing

Cranachan acquires children’s adventure about Robert Burns

Scottish indie Cranachan, is to publish Hag Storm by Victoria Williamson, a spooky, historical adventure based on the life of Robert Burns and one of his most famous and best-loved poems, Tam O’Shanter.

The children’s novel, acquired in a world all-language rights deal directly from the author, will be published in January 2022 to coincide with the Scottish bard’s birthday celebrations.

The synopsis reads: 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. It is up to Rab to save his sisters from the clutches of the witches’ coven before their Halloween ceremony in the old kirk.

Anne Glennie, publisher at Cranachan, said: “To have Robert Burns brought to life in this way is fantastic. In Hag Storm he is no longer a pale picture of an old man that children today can’t identify with. This gripping story, with a supernatural twist, is wonderfully evocative of the time period and is filled with mystery and magic. Currently, there is no published fictional account of Robert Burns’ childhood, and so this book will fit a unique gap in the market.”

Williamson added: “I have fond memories of the yearly Burns competition at primary school, when pupils would study the poetry of Robert Burns. Tam O’ Shanter captured my imagination, and ever since, the idea of a spooky children’s book based around the life of the young Robert Burns and an encounter with the witches on the Brig o’Doon has been bubbling away in my head. I can’t wait to share it with young readers.”

Williamson is also the author of the MG novels The Boy with the Butterfly Mind (Kelpies, 2019) and The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle (Kelpies, 2018).

Cover Reveal: The Sword of Light (Book 3 in the Four Treasures series) by Caroline Logan

Our only YA title for 2021 is the hotly anticipated third book in the Four Treasures series by Caroline Logan. Be reunited with Ailsa and her ragtag gang of creatures and misfits as we pick up where Book 2, The Cauldron of Life, left us reeling from all the plot twists and turns!

Haven’t joined the journey to Eilanmor yet? Start this Scottish fantasy epic now with The Stone of Destiny. In the meantime, we must show patience as The Sword of Light isn’t out until 7th October 2021. But to whet your appetite, here’s the cover with unicorn Laire taking pride of place.

Get ready for battle…

With everyone still healing after their encounter with the faerie queen, Ailsa MacAra had hoped to spend time with her long lost brother. But something strange happened to Cameron in the land of the fae, revealing that the world is under threat. Wicked and powerful forces have come to Ossiana and there is only one way to stop it: find The Four Treasures and ready yourself for battle.

Relying on rumours and secrets, Ailsa and her friends are sent off to scour the kingdom for the mythical weapons: to the north, where tales of witches and monsters are told; to the faerie court, where the defeated faerie queen might be the key to their salvation; and to a remote village, where fae have been disappearing for years.

Now, with war brewing across the continent, they’re in a race against time to find The Four Treasures. But will the magical objects be enough to defeat a god?

Free ‘Stay at Home!’ book for children living in lockdown in Scotland by 40 children’s authors

Island-based publisher Cranachan has launched a free, illustrated anthology of poems and stories for children aged 8-12. Stay at Home! Poems and Prose for Children in Lockdown is a collection of 40 lockdown-themed contributions by writers based in Scotland.

The new book, which is available for free and available on the Books from Scotland website, is described as “a book about lockdown– the good bits, the bad bits, and the ugly bits when nobody could get any toilet roll. It’s divided into three sections – Life in Lockdown, Everyday Superheroes, and the World Beyond Our Windows.”

Cover and Interior Illustrations by Darren Gate

Stay at Home!, illustrated by Darren Gate, aims to help children reflect on their time in lockdown. There is something in the anthology for everyone, from the serious to the hilarious, with short stories, flash fiction, poems, letters and diaries (including some in Scots) all giving their take on lockdown life topics such as kitchen haircuts, birthdays, home-schooling, daily exercise, pets, nature, neighbours–and even toilet roll alternatives.

The collection is edited by debut novelist Joan Haig and comprises work written especially for the lockdown volume, from well-loved children’s authors and new writers including:

Raisah Ahmed, Annemarie Allan, Dean Atta, Nayanika Basu, Pamela Butchart, Philip Caveney, Maisie Chan, Suleman Chebe, Alastair Chisholm, Justin Davies, Lari Don, Elizabeth Ezra, Matthew Fitt, Kerry L Fleming, Merryn Glover, Laura Guthrie, Joan Haig, Yasmin Hanif, Robert J Harris, Callum Heitler, Barbara Henderson, Diana Hendry, Emily Illet, Lindsay Littleson, Joseph Lamb, Elizabeth Laird, Joan Lennon, Caroline Logan, Janis Mackay, Alan McClure, Miranda Moore, Raman Mundair, Alex Nye, Rachel Plummer, Ross Sayers, Linda Strachan, Chae Strathie, and Victoria Williamson.

Explaining her motivation for creating the book, Haig says: “Originally, I had an idea at the start of Lockdown for a recipe book from children’s stories and contacted a few authors then to gauge interest. It was pointed out that ingredients were short in the shops and I gave up thinking about it! But I still felt that there was an opportunity to do something incredibly positive through writing in the Covid crisis, to reach out to children, but also to bring together children’s authors in Scotland.”

The book’s publisher, Anne Glennie of Cranachan, added: “It is the job of writers to record and to make sense of this new world. We are living through an historical moment in time–and this collection does not shy away from that reality but explores it, and hopefully, helps children come to terms with it as they recognise themselves and their experiences in its pages.”

Stay at Home! Poems and Prose for Children in Lockdown launches on 28th May and is available to read for free here: www.booksfromscotland.com and on Cranachan’s own website.

About Cranachan Publishing

Based on the Isle of Lewis, Cranachan publish high quality children’s fiction for 8-12s, with a focus on Scottish historical fiction through the Yesteryear series. Their YA imprint, Gob Stopper, covers a diverse range of titles including fantasy, contemporary, and historical fiction. Readers, young and old alike, can escape to Scotland by experiencing its exciting culture and history, wherever they live in the world. Cranachan also publish educational resources for teachers.

Cranachan were shortlisted for the Saltire Society Emerging Publisher 2019

Winner of the 2020 Favourite UK Children’s Publisher poll run by Enchanted Books

#ClanCranachan #BeMoreRaspberry

cranachanpublishing.co.uk

@cranachanbooks

Cranachan to launch new YA imprint

Island-based publisher, Cranachan, is to launch a brand-new Young Adult imprint ‘Gob Stopper’. Adding to their successful Pokey Hat imprint, which specialises in high quality historical fiction for 8-12-year olds, Cranachan hope to extend their readership by targeting teen readers in Scotland.

The Gob Stopper imprint will include a clutch of strong, Scottish-set titles. Ross Sayers, whose debut novel with Cranachan, Mary’s the Name, was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book Award in 2017, will be the first author published under the new imprint with his latest novel, Sonny and Me, out in May 2019.

Written in Scots and set in a fictitious Stirling secondary school, Sonny and Me, is described as Still Game meets Gregory’s Girl. The story follows two pals, Daughter and Sonny, as they try to get through fourth year at high school. When their favourite teacher leaves unexpectedly, and no one will say why, the boys decide to start their own investigation. As they dig deeper into the staff at Battlefield High, they discover a dark secret which one person will kill to protect… Will they uncover the truth without being expelled? Can their friendship survive when personal secrets are revealed? And will they manage to skive off double English?

Cranachan’s Publicity and Sales Manager, Kelly Macdonald, says “we want to publish books that are relevant; that teens can identify with the themes and recognise themselves in the pages. Sonny and Me is YA at its best for Scottish teenagers: it’s fresh, funny, and it explores diversity and LGBT issues too. With two male protagonists, we are also hopeful that Sonny and Me could reach some of the hard-to-reach reluctant readers in schools too.”

Further titles to be released under the new imprint include Girl in a Cage by literary heavyweights Jane Yolen and Robert J Harris, about Robert the Bruce’s daughter Marjorie and her kidnapping by the Edward 1 and The Stone of Destiny, an epic fantasy series by debut author Caroline Logan, which is described as Outlander meets Lord of the Rings.

Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers is out in May 2019.

As they like to say at Cranachan HQ – ‘the proof of the pudding is in the reading.’

/ENDS

Editor’s Notes

For further information, or to obtain Advance Review Copies of forthcoming titles, please contact:

Kelly Macdonald

07511 223127

kelly@cranachanpublishing.co.uk

Release issued by:

Kelly Macdonald

Cranachan Publishing

07511 223127

kelly@cranachanpublishing.co.uk

About Cranachan Publishing

Established at the beginning of 2016, Cranachan publish high quality children’s fiction and nonfiction, under the Pokey Hat imprint. Readers, young and old alike, can escape to Scotland by experiencing its culture and history through the medium of story, wherever they live in the world. Cranachan also publish educational resources for teachers. Their new YA imprint, Gob Stopper is launching in 2019.

cranachanpublishing.co.uk @cranachanbooks

Cranachan Publishing signs debut Scottish YA author Caroline Logan

The author’s first title, The Stone of Destiny, is an action-packed fantasy novel with a distinctly Scottish heart. Featuring mysterious creatures from Scottish myths and folklore, the book also uses Gaelic and makes the most of Scotland as the setting.

Anne Glennie, Publisher, says she is delighted to welcome Aviemore-based author, Caroline Logan, to the Clan Cranachan family: “We are thrilled and excited to be adding such an exceptional fantasy writer to our growing Gob Stopper list. Caroline’s first book The Stone of Destiny is going to kick off a new Young Adult fantasy series, ‘The Four Treasures’, with a bang and we think fans of the genre are going to be hooked on the Ailsa, the strong, sword-wielding main character, and the assortment of Scottish folk races she encounters. Caroline’s writing is fresh and exciting, exactly what we look for in our Cranachan titles.”

Logan, who is a biology teacher at Kingussie High School said: “I am so excited to be part of the creative and dynamic Clan Cranachan team. Anne and Kelly are so enthusiastic, and our discussions have left me brimming with ideas. I’m looking forward to introducing readers to Ailsa and the land of Eilanmor, with its magic and myths, and I hope they are as captivated by her journey as I was.”

Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas and Susan Dennard, The Stone of Destiny by Caroline Logan will be published in October 2019 by Cranachan Publishing.