An enchanting tale rooted in Irish folklore, and a heart-warming story of family, love and loss.
Orla and Apollo’s mum died two years ago and Orla has struggled with how strange everything has been since. She’s angry with everyone: with her friends, with Apollo, with Dad. This summer, Orla decides to visit Gran in Ireland and Apollo insists on coming too. Orla hopes that things at Gran’s will at least feel like they used to. But why is Gran acting so strangely and what is she hiding in her shed?
Gran always told Orla and Apollo fairy stories, but when she goes missing they are suddenly thrown into an adventure where they discover all Gran’s tales are true. On a helter-skelter journey across Ireland, Orla has to learn to trust the feelings that she’s kept buried inside her since Mum died. It might just save Gran’s life…
Anna Hoghton has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and has worked as a bookseller. She was nominated for the Lancelot Andrewes Poetry Award by Carol Ann Duffy and, in 2016, she was one of fifteen leading U.K. poets commissioned by Bristol Festival of Ideas. Anna is also a filmmaker (writer/director), and her latest environmental-action short film, ‘Never Land’ won ‘Best Narrative’ in the shorts category at the 2018 Women in Film and Television International film festival. The Mask of Aribella was chosen as the Children’s Book of the Month by Dubray Books chain of bookshops in Ireland.
WEL Publisher: Chicken House, July 2022
Editor: Rachel Leyshon
Primary Agent: Caroline Walsh
Film/TV Rights: DHA
Extent: 68,000 words
Co-Agents: Chinese - Bardon Chinese Media; Japanese - Japan Uni
Rights sold: German - DTV
<aside> 🏹 'A captivating fantasy for readers aged eight-plus. This enthralling adventure will make readers yearn for their own masks and powers.' — The Guardian
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<aside> 🏹 'Gorgeously written with touches of Philip Pullman and Eva Ibbotson, this is almost as captivating as a trip to La Serenissima itself.' — New Statesman
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<aside> 🏹 ‘Hoghton’s exciting premise is enriched by the Venetian setting, where the deceptive cobbled streets, maze of rivers and idiosyncratic islands make it easy to slip between a realist register and fantasy.’ – The Irish Times
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