Publication Date 1st July 2021 SONG OF THE FAR ISLES Nicholas Bowling When the Duchess arrives on the isle of Little Drum, she brings orders of silence, threatening the very soul of Oran’s musical community. But then Oran hears of a mythical instrument with the power to manipulate hearts; she must find it and play it to change the Duchess’s mind … • From Costa-shortlisted Nicholas Bowling comes a middle-grade fable of adventure, myth and music to make your heart sing. • The adventure and magic of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust with a Hebridean-inspired fantasy setting and lovable characters reminiscent of Pixar’s Brave. • A story about how music has the power to reveal, to inspire, and to bind people together. ‘Nicholas Bowling is a thrilling writer’ THE TELEGRAPH Price: £6.99 ISBN: 978-1-912626-67-0 Pub Date: 1st July 2021 eBook ISBN: 978-1-913696-02-3 CBMC code: D3N79 Age: 9+ Dimensions: 198x129 mm Illustrations: N/a Word count: 65,000 (words approx.) Export: Yes Binding: Paperback Rights: World CHICKEN HOUSE 01373 454488 www.chickenhousebooks.com DESCRIPTION An extract from easily the music came to her. She heard the Oran lives on Little Drum, where men’s tears and echoed them delicately, brought order and beauty to their sadness. They hunched music is everything. Every islander SONG OF THE over and began to sob all the more. has a birth instrument and a life ‘I said stop!’ song – and the ancestors, called FAR ISLES Lord Magmalley marched towards Oran. She Nicholas Bowling was aware of him only as a vague presence on ghasts, linger to hear the music. the edge of the song. As he came closer the But when the Duchess arrives sound of his voice cut through the music like a Oran slung her cithara case from her shoulder from the mainland bringing orders and undid the clasps. She sat and held it in her snapped string. lap. She heard her parents protesting from the She felt a tug. She missed a beat, and the of silence, she threatens the kitchen, but didn’t know if they were shouting at tune faltered. Then another, and Lord Magmalley ghasts’ existence, the very soul of wrenched her birth instrument from her hands. her or at Magmalley. the community. When Oran hears The instrument was a little out of tune, and She heard her parents’ voices again, wild and Oran’s fingers were stiff, but the first notes were tremulous. With the ragged edges of the tune of a mythical instrument with the still enough to stop the Headlanders in their still trailing in the air, Magmalley swung the power to manipulate hearts, she cithara against the trunk of the tree. tracks. Magmalley looked on, astonished. brings her ghast best friend, Alick, ‘What are you doing?’ he said. ‘How dare It held together at first. One of its curved you!’ arms became crooked, the bridge came loose, on a quest to find it, play it, and Oran played without thinking. It was no tune the strings slackened. He hurled it again, more change the Duchess’s mind … that anyone had heard before. She listened, violently, and this time the wood snapped as Bard had taught her, for that music that lay completely with a sound like bones breaking. between her and the men in the field. True music. Still he didn’t stop. He smashed the instrument She listened for the Headlanders’ melancholy, against the tree over and over until it was in five NICHOLAS BOWLING their silence, their homesickness, and wove or six splintered pieces, a couple of them held Nicholas Bowling is an author, them into melody and harmony. She listened for loosely together by the strings. stand-up comic, musician her parents’ sadness, and her own, and all the Oran watched dumbly as he walked away. and Latin teacher from She felt her face, head, chest suddenly overcome islanders’. She found herself singing, but what London. While writing his debut novel with a sickening, white-hot fever. At some point the words were she didn’t know. Witchborn, he also performed a solo The Headlanders wavered. They shook their her Da came over to her, but he was a shadow, show at the Edinburgh Festival, and has heads and dabbed their eyes with their skeins. and spoke to her as though through several feet Lord Magmalley shoved a pair of jewelled plugs of earth. He tried to pick up one of the pieces. co-written, recorded and in his ears. She screamed and he placed it back in the dirt. released an album and ‘Stop that!’ he cried. When she finally looked up, perhaps an hour two EPs. The more carefully Oran listened, the more later, the Headlanders were gone and the whole island was silent. @thenickbowling CHICKEN HOUSE 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DS Tel: 01373 454488 www.chickenhousebooks.com Publication Date 1st July 2021 THE CARTOONS THAT CAME TO LIFE Tom Ellen, illus. Phil Corbett Finn loves drawing comic strips featuring his two cartoon heroes, Arley and Tapper. But after being teased at school, he finds he can’t draw them any more – and is shocked to see them climbing out of his sketchbook for real! With the help of his friend Isha, Finn needs to find a way to draw them back to their comic world – and quickly ... • A brilliant new illustrated comic series for readers aged 8-12; perfect for fans of Tom Gates! • A big-hearted adventure about celebrating individuality, friendship and true loyalty. • Deals with children’s insecurities, worries and the debilitating effect of anxiety with a lightness of touch. • Author Tom Ellen is the co-author of three books for teens, including Lobsters, shortlisted for the YA Book Prize. Price: £6.99 ISBN: 978-1-910002-88-9 Pub Date: 1st July 2021 eBook ISBN: 978-1-913322-42-7 CBMC code: D3N79 Age: 8+ Dimensions: 191x152 mm Illustrations: Phil Corbett Word count: 30,000 (words approx.) Export: Yes Binding: Paperback Rights: World CHICKEN HOUSE 01373 454488 www.chickenhousebooks.com A look inside THE CARTOONS THAT CAME TO LIFE Tom Ellen TOM ELLEN Tom Ellen is the co-author of Lobsters, Never Evers and Freshers, as well as his debut adult novel All About Us. Tom also works as a journalist, writing for publications such as Empire, Glamour and NME, also writes comedy material for TV and radio. Fintasmo and the Toons is his first middle-grade novel. @tomellen7 CHICKEN HOUSE 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DS Tel: 01373 454488 www.chickenhousebooks.com Publication Date 1st July 2021 THE HOWLING HAG INN Nicki Thornton When there’s a murder in Twinhills and a hag is heard howling at the inn, Raven Charming realizes she may not be the only secret witch in the village. With the help of boy sleuth Mortimer Scratch, and talking cat Nightshade, she sets out to solve her first magical mystery. • Bestselling middle-grade author Nicki Thornton embarks on a fantastical new mystery series! • Nicki’s trio of cosy, magical murder mysteries have proved a big hit with readers – now she follows beloved Nightshade, the talking black cat, on a brand new adventure. PRAISE FOR THE SETH SEPPI MYSTERIES: ‘A jolly, atmospheric mystery’ THE TIMES ‘A thoroughly comforting bedtime read’ TELEGRAPH ‘Wonderfully atmospheric’ DAILY EXPRESS Price: £6.99 ISBN: 978-1-913322-70-0 Pub Date: 1st July 2021 eBook ISBN: 978-1-913696-14-6 CBMC code: D3N79 Age: 9+ Dimensions: 198x129 mm Illustrations: N/a Word count: 60,000 (words approx.) Export: Yes Binding: Paperback Rights: World CHICKEN HOUSE 01373 454488 www.chickenhousebooks.com DESCRIPTION An extract from of most people in her class. He was lean When there’s a murder in the and wiry. His hair was possibly even a little darker than her sister Rookery’s, which was village and a hag is heard THE HOWLING surprising. howling at the local inn, secret HAG INN Raven always felt her name gave people witch Raven Charming realizes an expectation that she should have she could have a rival – one Nicki Thornton dark, straight, glossy hair that looked like who practises the worst kind beautiful wings. But that hair had been There was never a shortage of information given to her sister, which left Raven feeling of magic. With the help of about new people who moved into she was a disappointment. When she said amateur sleuth, Mortimer Twinhills, the tiny village where Raven her name people repeated it in a certain Scratch, and Nightshade, a Charming lived. The chattering said it was way – Raven? – as if she had somehow got talking cat with a feline sense delightful that the Howling Hag was re- her own name wrong. But that might be opening, the pretty inn with its red sloping because her own hair was annoyingly both of detection, she sets out to roof and its unfortunately ugly pub sign. fluffy and curly, so she kept it cut short. solve what’s been going on … But the whispering added that the If anyone had named her after her actual Scratches had had to move around to hair she’d have ended up with a name like keep their son out of trouble. And Raven Alpaca. NICKI THORNTON couldn’t help thinking of this as she ‘I know who you are, you’re in my class at Nicki Thornton has run an approached the Howling Hag at speed. school,’ retorted Raven, thinking of Mum’s Suddenly, a jet of cold water struck a direct advice that if you sound brave, no one independent bookshop in hit right on her backpack.