Mar. 22nd, 2022 at 2:30 PM
Reeve & McIntyre: we have NEWS!
Do you remember all those little mouse drawings I made during Lockdown? I so enjoyed getting out my model ships and painting these characters, who were going on the sorts of big adventures that I couldn't go on at the time. Their tiny bravery gave me a sense of purpose and hope and I fell very much in love with them.
So when Lockdown finished, I asked Philip Reeve if he might be interested in turning them into a series of books with me - it's always more fun working with a friend! - and he said yes. (Hooray!) So there was a big announcement today at Bologna Children's Book Fair by David Fickling Books about this little mouse:
And here begin the Adventuremice! Philip and I have had so much fun expanding the world I'd started to create. Here's the Mousebase, from which the brave Adventuremice set out on their rescue missions:
Here's the original announcement from David Ficking Books on Twitter, linking to the article published in today's version of The Bookseller magazine, with an article by Caroline Carpenter:
There are lots of reasons we're excited to be working with DFB: They've been my publisher already for several books and David Fickling took risks on me when I was a young illustrator, with Morris the Mankiest Monster with Giles Andreae (my first UK book!), my weekly comic Vern & Lettuce that was turned into a comic collection book, Jampires co-authored with David O'Connell, and more recently, The New Neighbours, which Rights agent Bronwen Bennie has enabled to be published in lots of different countries around the world. Here's Bronwen this week at the Bologna Children's Book Fair:
And we'll be working with designer Ness Wood, who has designed lots of my books, including Morris the Mankiest Monster, Jampires, Vern and Lettuce and Don't Call Me Grumpycorn. The other good news about DFB is that we'll be working with our original Reeve & McIntyre editor Liz Cross, following her as she's moved over from Oxford University Press. Here you can see her at the launch of our very first book together, Oliver and the Seawigs on the Golden Hinde ship. And we'll also be working with Fraser Hutchinson in Publicity, whom keen fans of the Kevin books might recognise as the inspiration for the character of Cardigan Faun!
In fact, editor Liz Cross goes back further than Reeve & McIntyre; she was the editor who discovered Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, his very first novel, after he'd been working as an illustrator for Scholastic for many years! She's working with Philip again, publishing his Utterly Dark books (the second one comes out Sept 1st this year, cover and interior illustrations by Irish illustrator Paddy Donnelly).
It's still awhile 'til the first two Adventuremice books launch - Spring 2023 - but I'm nearly finished illustrating the first one and really enjoying the painting process. For the Kevin books, they're drawn with old-fashioned dip-pen and ink and coloured digitally, but for the Adventuremice, I'm painting everything in real paint, which I love. Less screen time, and it's awfully nice seeing the painting appearing in front of me on hot-press watercolour paper, as I work in my temporary Dartmoor studio, with Philip typing away on the next book on the other side of the room. It's so much easier working nearby; we can discuss where the story is going to go next, and he can help me with the pictures. Stay posted for more collaboration news!
So when Lockdown finished, I asked Philip Reeve if he might be interested in turning them into a series of books with me - it's always more fun working with a friend! - and he said yes. (Hooray!) So there was a big announcement today at Bologna Children's Book Fair by David Fickling Books about this little mouse:
And here begin the Adventuremice! Philip and I have had so much fun expanding the world I'd started to create. Here's the Mousebase, from which the brave Adventuremice set out on their rescue missions:
Here's the original announcement from David Ficking Books on Twitter, linking to the article published in today's version of The Bookseller magazine, with an article by Caroline Carpenter:
There are lots of reasons we're excited to be working with DFB: They've been my publisher already for several books and David Fickling took risks on me when I was a young illustrator, with Morris the Mankiest Monster with Giles Andreae (my first UK book!), my weekly comic Vern & Lettuce that was turned into a comic collection book, Jampires co-authored with David O'Connell, and more recently, The New Neighbours, which Rights agent Bronwen Bennie has enabled to be published in lots of different countries around the world. Here's Bronwen this week at the Bologna Children's Book Fair:
And we'll be working with designer Ness Wood, who has designed lots of my books, including Morris the Mankiest Monster, Jampires, Vern and Lettuce and Don't Call Me Grumpycorn. The other good news about DFB is that we'll be working with our original Reeve & McIntyre editor Liz Cross, following her as she's moved over from Oxford University Press. Here you can see her at the launch of our very first book together, Oliver and the Seawigs on the Golden Hinde ship. And we'll also be working with Fraser Hutchinson in Publicity, whom keen fans of the Kevin books might recognise as the inspiration for the character of Cardigan Faun!
In fact, editor Liz Cross goes back further than Reeve & McIntyre; she was the editor who discovered Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, his very first novel, after he'd been working as an illustrator for Scholastic for many years! She's working with Philip again, publishing his Utterly Dark books (the second one comes out Sept 1st this year, cover and interior illustrations by Irish illustrator Paddy Donnelly).
It's still awhile 'til the first two Adventuremice books launch - Spring 2023 - but I'm nearly finished illustrating the first one and really enjoying the painting process. For the Kevin books, they're drawn with old-fashioned dip-pen and ink and coloured digitally, but for the Adventuremice, I'm painting everything in real paint, which I love. Less screen time, and it's awfully nice seeing the painting appearing in front of me on hot-press watercolour paper, as I work in my temporary Dartmoor studio, with Philip typing away on the next book on the other side of the room. It's so much easier working nearby; we can discuss where the story is going to go next, and he can help me with the pictures. Stay posted for more collaboration news!