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Bonnier Books UK snaps up two new titles from Newbery Medal winner Kelly Barnhill

Piccadilly Press and Hot Key Books, imprints of Bonnier Books UK, have acquired two new titles from celebrated Newbery Medal-winner Kelly Barnhill.

Georgia Murray, Commissioning Editor, acquired The Ogress and the Orphans from Kendra Poster at Algonquin Books, and When Women Were Dragons from Peggy Boulos Smith and Alessandra Birch at Writers House, New York.

Following on from Barnhill’s New York Times bestseller The Girl Who Drank the Moon, The Ogress and the Orphans is a story full of magic, wonder and heart: an enchanting middle-grade tale of intrepid orphans and a misunderstood and kindly ogress who lives at the edge of town.

Barnhill will then reach new audiences with When Women Were Dragons – a YA novel published by Hot Key Books that examines gender roles and identity in a world where women and girls can transform into dragons.

Georgia Murray said: ‘I am thrilled that we are publishing both of Kelly’s outstanding new novels on our Bonnier Books UK children’s lists. These are both urgent and enchanting stories that speak to our times – an ode to the power of generosity and community in the magical The Ogress and the Orphans; and a tale celebrating the power of girls and women to carve out their own paths and reshape their lives in the simply stunning When Women Were Dragons. They are both absolute classics in the making, and we couldn’t be prouder to publish them and bring Kelly’s writing to an even wider audience.’

Emma Matthewson added: “From a towering, feminist tour de force examining repressed rage and the power of sisterhood, to a magical middle-grade future classic, Kelly Barnhill’s breadth of writing is both exhilarating and astonishing. We could not be more proud to publish both these extraordinary books.”

Kelly Barnhill lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. She is the NYT bestselling author of four novels, most recently The Girl Who Drank the Moon, winner of the Newbery Medal. The Witch’s Boy received four starred reviews and was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards.

Piccadilly Press will publish The Ogress and the Orphans in paperback on 8th March 2022. When Women Were Dragons will be published by Hot Key Books in hardback on 3rd May 2022.