Nosy Crow's Blog, page 86

How do you know you really exist? Watch our teaser trailer for The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day

This April we’re delighted to be publishing The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day by multi-award-winning author Christopher Edge – a mind-bending mystery for 9+ readers combining cutting-edge science, gripping adventure and real heart, from the author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright and The Jamie Drake Equation. And today we’re thrilled to share our teaser trailer for the book!

You can watch our trailer at the top of this post – and here’s a bit more about the book:

It’s Maisie’s birthday and she can’t wait to open her presents. She’s hoping for the things she needs to build her own nuclear reactor. But she wakes to an empty house and outside the front door is nothing but a terrifying, all-consuming blackness. Trapped in an ever-shifting reality, Maisie knows that she will have to use the laws of the universe and the love of her family to survive. And even that might not enough…

We’ll be sharing a first look inside The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day next week, with an exclusive preview of the book’s opening chapters – keep an eye on the @NosyCrowBooks Twitter account for more information.

 

Would you like to attend the next Nosy Crow Masterclass?

Last month saw the return of our Nosy Crow Masterclass, How to Write Picture Books – another fantastically creative, inspiring, and informative sell-out day, filled with advice, lessons and guidance on writing picture books.

And for those of you who weren’t able to book a place, we’re delighted to say that we’ll be holding another How to Write Picture Books Masterclass in the Spring – and we’ll be announcing the programme and line-up of speakers for the Masterclass, along with information on buying tickets, very shortly.

If you’d like to be the first to hear when and how you can book your place, sign up to our books newsletter, either at this page or with the form below – subscribers will receive early booking information. Our previous How to Write Picture Book Masterclasses have sold out in a matter of hours, so if you’re interested in attending, our newsletter is your best way of securing your place.

We hope to see you there!

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Take a look inside The Curious Kangaroo – a brand new book in the Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series!

Next week we’re publishing Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Curious Kangaroo, the latest brilliant story in the phenomenally successful Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams – and today you can take a look inside the new book for the first time!

Zoe loves living at her uncle’s rescue zoo because there is always something exciting going on. And Zoe has an amazing secret… She can actually TALK to the animals! Bouncer the baby kangaroo is new to the rescue zoo, and she’s interested in everything and everyone! But will the little joey’s curiosity get her into big trouble…?

Here’s a first look inside the book:

These are a great introduction to chapter books for 5-7 year olds – brilliantly-written series fiction with a fantastic premise, and perfect for young animal lovers everywhere.

The Curious Kangaroo will be in shops from March 1st – you can find out more about the book here. And if you’d like to stay up to date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter at this page, or with form below.

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Take a look inside HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World

This March we’re incredibly proud to be publishing HerStory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook the World – a gloriously illustrated, empowering book about 50 remarkable women who changed the world. And today we’re very pleased to share an early preview – you can take a first look inside the book!

Compelling, motivating and visually arresting in equal measure, this is the perfect introduction to just some of the amazing women who have shaped our world. From Anne Frank to Frida Kahlo, and Marie Curie to Malala, these writers, leaders, artists, scientists and heroines shook the world with their vision, bravery and hope. This beautiful book features inspiring words from all of these women, the stories of their childhood, the challenges they faced and the changes they made in the world, with photographs and portraits by the highly talented Sarah Walsh.

Separated into different themes – ‘Believe and Lead’, Imagine and Create’, ‘Help and Heal’, ‘Think and Solve’, and ‘Hope and Overcome’ – this is perfect for dipping in and out of: there’s inspiration on every page.

Here’s a first look inside the book:

HerStory will be in shops from March 1st – you can pre-order the book online here.

And we’ll be discussing the book (along with Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls) at the next Nosy Crow Reading Group – you can find out more, and book your place for the event, here.

There are just a couple of days to apply for three roles in Nosy Crow’s design team

We are currently recruiting for three positions in Nosy Crow’s design team – Senior Designer, Designer, and Design Assistant – and there’s just a couple of days left to apply for the roles: the closing date for applications for all three positions is this Sunday, February 18th, at midnight.

At Nosy Crow we’re proud of our design team and of the design quality of our books. We aim to make Nosy Crow an environment where designers truly thrive, where they can do their best work, where they are listened to, and where they feel part of the whole company and of our decision-making.

We think that excellent design is critical to our (multi-award-winning – just saying) brand and to our success, and, as our list grows and diversifies, we are looking to invest more in our design department and to hire committed, creative individuals for three roles.

While we’d hope to find inviduals who could work across all the areas of our full-colour list, the work allocated to each role will reflect the interests, skills and experience that individuals bring. We can be flexible.

SENIOR DESIGNER – PICTURE BOOKS, PRE-SCHOOL, ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

DESIGNER – PICTURE BOOKS, PRE-SCHOOL, ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

We’re looking for a creative, committed, talented and flexible Senior Designer, and for a Designer with comparable qualities, to work on our award-winning full-colour list. For success in both roles, you’ll need experience of childen’s publishing and will have worked on books from at least one of the areas of our list. Both jobs involve finding new talent; working with experienced illustrators; commissioning; and relationship management as well as making sure that words and pictures are combined on the page as meaningfully and beautifully as possible.

Proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator programmes, excellent proven book design and typographic skills, and a love and knowledge of children’s book illustration are essential, along with good written and spoken communication skills and the ability to work to a deadline.

What distinguishes the two roles is the level of autonomy at which the individual will be working, which will be likely to be influenced by the level of proven skill and amount of experience that the candidate is able to bring.

These are both full-time roles, but, for the right candidate, we can be flexible. We’d want anyone in either role to be in our office near London Bridge at least three days per week.

DESIGN ASSISTANT – PICTURE BOOKS, PRE-SCHOOL, ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION

We have a great opportunity for a hardworking, creative and capable Design Assistant to become part of our design team, supporting them as they work on our full-colour books and on some of the print marketing for the whole Nosy Crow list.

Proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator programmes combined with some evidence of book design and typographic skills, and a love and knowledge of children’s book illustration are essential, along with good written and spoken communication skills and the ability to work to a deadline.

This is a full-time role based our office near London Bridge.

For all three roles:

Candidates from outside the EU must have the right to live and work in the UK.
Please send a CV and cover letter, along with samples of your design work, to Nia Roberts (nia@nosycrow.com).
The closing date for applications for all three roles is 18 February at midnight.

 

Nosy Crow is an equal opportunities employer. We believe that employing a diverse workforce is an important factor in success and make recruiting decisions based on applicants’ experience and skills. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief.

Our new March books are almost here!

There are some fantastic new books from Nosy Crow coming out next month – from novelty and activity books with fun interactive design, to picture books, chapter books and middle grade fiction, there’s something for everyone. Here’s a look at what you can find in shops in March.

We’re very excited to be publishing two new titles in the award-winning Felt Flaps series, illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius. Where’s Mrs Zebra? and Where’s Mr Dog? are wonderful, vibrant additions to the Felt Flaps family – five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly animals hiding behind bright felt flaps, and there’s a mirror on the final page! These are perfect books to share with very little ones. If you, like us, LOVE Ingela’s style, watch her interview with Kate Wilson, and get a sneak peek at an extra special book that’s due out in October, too!

A Bear is a Bear (except when he’s not) is in shops next month – written by Karl Newson, and with warm, humorous illustrations from fresh talent Anuska Allepuz, this is a funny, rhyming romp about an adorably baffled bear. When one sleepy bear wakes up early from his winter sleep, he’s confused. Is he a bird? Or a moose? A fox, perhaps? Or even a squirrel? No! He’s definitely a bear, and it’s time this bear went back to sleep…

Take a look inside:

Find out more.

We’re incredibly proud to be publishing HerStory in March – this beautiful work of non-fiction is all about educating and empowering, and features 50 women and girls who shook the world in their own unique ways. Superbly illustrated by Sarah Walsh and with words by Katherine Halligan, this collection is compelling, motivating and visually arresting in equal measure, and the perfect introduction to some of the amazing women who have shaped our world. The book features inspiring words from these women, the stories of their childhood, the challenges they faced and the changes they made in the world.

Here’s a sample of what’s inside:

Find out more

We’re publishing not one, but FOUR new books in collaboration with the National Trust next month.

We’ll be publishing Look and Say What You See In the Town, a new book in the Look and Say series, illustrated by Sebastien Braun. From fruit and vegetables at the market to flowers and birds in the snowy garden, this look-and-say book for little ones is a great way to start learning about nature around the town. The spot-and-find aspect is perfect for the youngest of readers to become absorbed in the fascinating nature details. What can you see down by the canal? Can you find the fox in the street at night-time? There’s so much to recognise in each landscape in this beautiful interactive book for the very young.

Take a look:

Find out more

We’re publishing two books in a new Who’s Hiding Here? series with the National Trust next month, illustrated by Katherine McEwen. Who’s Hiding On The River? and Who’s Hiding On The Farm? are beautiful lift-the-flap books full of facts about nature… and full of fun too! Little ones can pore over the beautiful collaged pages and explore different habitats to find out lots of interesting facts about nature. This is the perfect introduction to the outdoors. With other 20 flaps in each book, all hiding an animal and a fun animal fact, there’s plenty to discover!

Nature Origami will be publishing next month – a stunning gift book where you can learn to make your very own origami creatures! Featuring enticing nature artwork from Clover Robin, alongside simple instructions to make 13 different origami animals and objects, plus an extract from a nature poem to compliment every creature. This book suits complete beginners as well as more experienced origami folders, with three difficulty levels. And there’s a handy QR code which will take you to a series of instructive how-to videos for each animal. You can watch the Duck one here!

Find out more

And we’re publishing some fantastic new fiction next month, too!

We’re very pleased to be publishing Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Curious Kangaroo, the latest instalment in the Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series, just right for new readers who are growing in confidence. Written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams, this book is filled with the cuddliest, cutest baby animals and is sure to delight you animal lovers everywhere – it’s perfect for fans of Holly Webb and Dick King Smith. Zoe loves living at her uncle’s rescue zoo, because there’s always something exciting going on. And Zoe also has an amazing secret… She can actually TALK to the animals!

Here’s a look inside:

Find out more

Max the Detective Cat: The Disappearing Diva will be out in March – the first book  in a new middle-grade mystery series, written by Sarah Todd Taylor and illustrated by Nicola Kinnear, with plenty of fun, drama and a vintage crime feel, too! Max, chief mouse-hunter at the Theatre Royal, is up to his whiskers in his first mystery. Max is a pampered cat, used to the finer things in life, until a fun mouse chase goes badly wrong and he finds himself scruffy and alone and hiding out at the Theatre Royal. It’s here that Max takes on his first case as a detective cat, and soon Max is trapped in a complicated web of crime, dashing over the rooftops of London in a race to catch a clever thief…

Here’s a look inside the book:

Find out more

And finally, from the author of Little Bits of Sky, S. E. Durrant, comes a beautifully told story of unorthodox families, grief, adolescence and running: Running On Empty. AJ’s grandfather has always been one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. Compelling and beautiful writing about family, loss, dreams and small pleasures, Running On Empty packs a real emotional punch.

Here’s a look inside:

Don’t forget – you can stay up to date with all of our book news by signing up to our books newsletter at this page, or with the form below – you’ll never miss a thing!

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Take a look inside A Bear is a Bear (except when he’s not)

Next month we’re delighted to be publishing A Bear is a Bear (except when he’s not) – a funny, rhyming romp, written by Karl Newson, about an adorably baffled bear, with warm, humorous illustrations from fresh talent Anuska Allepuz.

And today you can take a first look inside the book!

Poor old Bear. He’s sleepy and all confused. Is he a bird? Or a moose? A fox perhaps? Or even a squirrel? No! He’s definitely a BEAR and it’s time he went for his winter sleep…

Here’s a look inside:

A Bear is a Bear will be in shops from March – you can find out more about the book here.

And if you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing:

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The next Nosy Crow Reading Group is almost here – we’re discussing Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and Herstory

The Nosy Crow Reading Group is back in a couple of weeks – we’ll be discussing Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, and Herstory, by Katherine Halligan and Sarah Walsh.

And if you’re interested in coming along, there are just a couple of places remaining!

We’ll be meeting on Tuesday, February 27th at 6.30pm, at the Nosy Crow offices – 14 Baden Place, Crosby Row, SE1 1YW – for a discussion of the book (along with wine and crisps).

If you’d like to come along, just register for a place with the form below, or at this page – if the reading group becomes fully booked, you can add your name to our waiting list, and we’ll notify you if a place opens up.

You can buy Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls online here.

You can buy Herstory directly from the Nosy Crow website here – use the discount code BOOKGROUP for 50% off the RRP and free shipping.

We hope to see you there!

Take a look inside The Knight Who Said ‘No!’

This April we’re delighted to be publishing a brand new picture book from a wonderful new author-illustrator partnership: The Knight Who Said ‘No!’, a brilliantly observed rhyming picture book, written by Lucy Rowland, with charming illustrations from Kate Greenaway-nominated illustrator Kate Hindley.

Early finished copies of the book have recently arrived in the Crow’s Nest, and look absolutely FANTASTIC – and today you can take a first look inside the book!

Ned the Knight ALWAYS does exactly what he’s told. When his parents ask him to pick up his toys, dig up the cabbages or go to bed on time, he does it all with a smile. And when the dragon swoops into town every night, he always runs inside, just as he’s asked. But one morning, instead of saying ‘yes’, Ned says ‘NO!’ And, refusing to go inside that night, he confronts the dragon… making a very unlikely friend in the process.

Here’s a look inside the book:

The Knight Who Said ‘No!’ will be in shops from April – you can find out more about the book here.

And if you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing:

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Nosy Crow has been shortlisted for five IPG 2018 Independent Publishing Awards!

The 2018 IPG Independent Publishing Award shortlists have been announced, and we are absolutely delighted to discover that Nosy Crow have been shortlisted for five awards!

We’ve been shortlisted for the Children’s Publisher of the Year Award (which we have won previously in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017), against Bloomsbury, Walker, and Little Tiger Group. In their commendation, the IPG said: “Nosy Crow has won this Award four times in the last six years, and is shortlisted once again for another 12 months of growth across the board. Judges singled out its brand-building, partnerships with booksellers and constant digital innovation, and noted its relentless rights activity around the world. ‘Nosy Crow keeps moving along on an incredibly successful path,’ judges said. ‘The way it listens to readers and retailers is second to none.'”

We’ve been shortlisted for the International Achievement Award, against Kogan Page and SPCK. In their commendation, the IPG said: “Nosy Crow is shortlisted here for the sixth time in seven years after another stellar year of sales. Judges admired its strategic, rounded and well-invested approach to global business, which sees it secure world rights to content wherever possible and leverage them to the extent that more than half its revenue is earned beyond the UK. ‘International is integrated into everything Nosy Crow does—it’s so ingenious in the way it exploits its rights,’ they said.”

We’ve been shortlisted for the Digital Publishing Award, against Bloomsbury Publishing, Class Publishing, and PG Online. In their commendation, the IPG said: “Nosy Crow expanded its digital publishing in tandem with its print books in 2017, launching both a new programme of fiction audiobooks and book-related websites under a new partnership with the British Museum. It extended its range of apps too, and started to produce them for third parties. ‘Nosy Crow doesn’t seem to take a wrong step in its digital work, and it’s diversifying in some really interesting ways,’ said the judges.”

We’ve been shortlisted for the Digital Marketing Award, against How2Become and Pluto Press. In their commendation, the IPG said: “Nosy Crow, winner of this Award in 2014 and 2015, further enhanced its digital marketing to readers, retailers, reviewers, authors and overseas publishers alike in 2017. It launched an Instagram platform, expanded its YouTube presence and grew direct-to-consumer sales, and still found time to blog every day. Judges said: ‘Nosy Crow ticks every box in digital marketing. For what is still a relatively small company, it achieves an amazing amount.'”

And Ola Gotkowska, Nosy Crow’s Rights Manager, has been shortlisted for the Young Independent Publisher of the Year Award. In their commendation, the IPG said: “Ola Gotkowska of Nosy Crow, shortlisted for this Award for a fourth time, helped Nosy Crow to another sharp increase in both foreign rights and co-edition sales in 2017. She found dozens of new rights customers, and combines sales and negotiation skills with superlative organisation. ‘She does her job terrifically well in a part of the industry that is usually unsung—but which is clearly a major reason for Nosy Crow’s success,’ said the judges.”

You can find out more about all of the award shortlists here – the winners of the awards will be announced at the gala dinner of the IPG Annual Spring Conference, on March 8th.

Wish us luck!