Pages from Time Travellers Adventure Calling PAGES
The Time Travellers: Adventure Calling by Sufiya Ahmed – Sneak Peek of Chapter 1
Pages from Time Travellers Adventure Calling PAGES
Jade McGrath
Pages from Time Travellers Adventure Calling PAGES
The story behind Becoming Brave by Jennie Cashman Wilson
In my new picture book, “Becoming Brave,” I share a deeply personal journey about my own childhood and the impact of the pressures to conform. The story revolves around my transformation from a free-spirited, creative child into someone who felt the constant need to be ‘good’ in order to please the adults around me. This shift ultimately led me to abandon my true desires in favour of approval. Meanwhile on the other side of the world there was a boy who had fallen in love with the trumpet and would do anything to keep playing. The turning point in my life came when I met that grownup boy Abram, a jazz musician who showed me what I’d been missing. Following his passing three years later, I realised that I had nothing to lose and gradually started embracing my fears. It took nearly seven years for me to truly understand the concept that it was okay to fail, which is when I penned ‘Becoming Brave.’
Writing a picture book with the messages of love, loss, fear and courage was not my initial goal. It happened serendipitously. My journey towards ‘Becoming Brave’ started when I embarked on a two-week clowning course in 2019, where I got to embody the magic of embracing failure and learned how I could transform it into something else. Following on from this experience I began working through ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron and that led me to scribbling down my initial ‘Becoming Brave’ story. My words remained hidden in one of my journals for months, but eventually, I found them again. The decision to share my story was driven by my desire to encourage people, especially young children, to have confidence in themselves and their creative potential, even in the face of setbacks.
I first shared my story when I had the privilege of speaking to a thousand primary school children at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, sharing my experiences and those of Abram as part of their annual Generation Ladywood project. This project was close to my heart, as I had watched a whole year group grow from reception to Year 6, which was incredibly special. I wanted children to understand that being brave involves acknowledging fear and the possibility of failure, while also reassuring them that they would be okay. I aimed to convey that failure is not something to fear but rather an opportunity for growth and creativity. The message of ‘No Fear!’ became our annual chant, emphasising the importance of courage in the face of adversity and I’m thrilled that I had the chance to share my story with them first. As the story evolved into a children’s picture book, it felt important to emphasise the process of finding courage from within rather than pushing away fear, hence the title ‘Becoming Brave’.
I’m so grateful to Little Tiger for their commitment to bringing this story to life, especially Nikki, Isabel and Emma who were so passionate, patient and collaborative in their approach. Tomekah’s illustrations are beautiful, and it I feel very lucky that she agreed to take on this story as her first picture book. Thank you and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it.
The inspiration behind Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
I’m so honored that my novel ONLY THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT is being published in the UK and Commonwealth by Little Tiger for many reasons, not least of which is that when I was growing up, I never thought a book that’s both this Iranian and this queer would ever be published, let alone that I would write it. This is in many ways a book about coming out of the shadows. My family, like many immigrant families, hid the secrets of their trauma from me. And perhaps learning from their example, I spent too many years hiding my queerness from them and from the world. What I found in writing this book is a firm belief that while our trauma can be passed down from generation to generation, so can our joy, our love, our loyalty, our poetry.
ONLY THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT is about three generations of men in the same Iranian family. Each of the Jafarzadeh men – Moud, Saeed and Bobby – tells the story of a teenage journey between Los Angeles to Tehran or vice versa. Because the novel takes place in the 1930s, the 1970s, and present day, it allowed me to dig into the complex connective tissue of history, and how we’re always carrying our history within us. It also allowed me to depict intergenerational grace and forgiveness. Throughout my life, I’ve struggled with western friends who wanted to cast my family and my culture as the villains of my story for not embracing my sexuality. My friends often spoke the language of American self-empowerment, which tells us that if someone doesn’t accept us as we are, we should bid them goodbye. I spoke the language of immigrant families, which taught me that family loyalty comes before everything else. I felt caught between two worlds for most of my life, and often still do, which is why I try so hard to unite those two worlds in my fiction. In bringing conflicting worlds and identities together on the page, I hope to inspire myself to keep bridge-building off the page, and to keep striving for unity and forgiveness in a world full of division and shame.
I hope readers of this novel will be similarly inspired, and that they see this novel as an invitation to engage in many of life’s biggest questions about where we are now and how we got here, and to come up with their own unique answers. And I also hope that readers who are interested in the novel’s depiction of political issues, such as anti-queer legislation and western intervention in the Middle East, come away with an appreciation for how issues they may view as purely political are deeply personal for families like the Jafarzadeh family. Just like Moud develops a deeper empathy for his father and grandfather by learning their stories, I hope this novel inspires readers to really take the time to get to know people’s histories, and develop a deeper empathy for others. We’re all carrying so much intergenerational joy, trauma, love, fear, loyalty, and only by recognizing our common humanity can we create the most beautiful moments.
Acquisition Announcement: How to Survive a Teen Horror Movie – a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek twist on the classic teen horror.
Little Tiger has acquired a dynamic YA thriller from Scarlett Dunmore.
Publishing in Fall 2024, How to Survive a Teen Horror Movie is a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek twist on the classic teen horror – perfect for Halloween reading!
Karelle Tobias, Junior Editor at Little Tiger, acquired world all-languages rights in How to Survive a Teen Horror Movie and its sequel from Silvia Molteni at Peter Fraser and Dunlop Literary Agents for publication in Fall 2024.
Horror enthusiast Charley is determined to put her past behind her and keep a low profile when she’s enrolled to a boarding school on a remote island. That is until a golden-masked killer begins terrorising the girls at her school, with its victims’ ghosts insistent that Charley avenge them.
Now Charley and her best (and only) friend Olive must use their horror knowledge to unmask the killer before they raise havoc at the Halloween Formal…
A fast-paced tongue in cheek novel about two friends trying to survive senior year – literally!
Perfect for fans of Fear Street, The Midnight Club and the Scream franchise.
Karelle Tobias, Junior Editor said:
As an avid horror fan, How to Survive makes brilliant use of the tropes we’ve come to expect and love, but with a great twist that will leave readers hooked right till the very end. Scarlett’s pacy writing, combined with the perfect dose of frightening thrills and humour, captivated me immediately. I cannot wait to work with Scarlett and develop this spooktacular series.
Scarlett Dunmore said:
How to Survive was a really fun book to write with Little Tiger. I enjoyed pulling from iconic horror directors like Wes Craven and John Carpenter to create some witty characters and entertaining jump-scares. I can’t wait to dive back into this storyworld for the next book!
Little Tiger will publish How to Survive a Teen Horror Movie in Fall 2024.
Scarlett studied English and Creative Writing, eventually finding a love for YA literature. When she’s not writing, she can often be found watching scary films or exploring abandoned abbeys, old cemeteries and ruined castles in Scotland for inspiration.
Instagram: @scarlett_dunmore
Acquisition Announcement: Something to be Proud Of – a vibrant coming-of-age story from Anna Zoe Quirke
Little Tiger has acquired a vibrant coming-of-age story from debut author Anna Zoe Quirke – winner of the Northern Writer’s Debut Award for YA Fiction 2022 and shortlisted in the PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2022.
Publishing in June 2024, Something to Be Proud Of is a joyful celebration of queer friendship and finding community – the perfect read for Pride month and beyond!
Mattie Whitehead, Senior Commissioning Editor at Little Tiger, acquired world all-languages rights in Something to be Proud Of and a second standalone YA novel from Lucy Irvine at Peter Fraser and Dunlop Literary Agents for publication in June 2024. The second book will follow in June 2025. The cover for Something to be Proud Of is illustrated by Lucía Gomez Alcaide. Sophie Bransby, Designer at Little Tiger, acquired cover illustration rights from Will Drayson, Advocate Art.
Imogen Quinn is a chaotic bisexual with dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian, crushing stereotypes about autistic people. When she decides to put on a pride festival that’s accessible for everyone, she enlists the help of the openly gay captain of the football team, Ollie Armstrong.
Dealing with the fallout from his parents’ divorce, Ollie is initially hesitant. But it doesn’t take long for him to be swept up by Imogen’s passion, and he’s not the only one. Joined by the (infuriatingly perfect) head girl, musicians, an artist and a star baker – a dream team soon assembles to help plan pride and tackle injustices in their school and beyond. You’d better listen out – they’re getting ready to make some noise.
Packed full of fun, forever friendships and fighting back, this YA debut is perfect for fans of I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Gwen and Art are Not in Love, Feel Good, Heartstopper and Not My Problem.
Mattie Whitehead, Senior Commissioning Editor said:
Something to be Proud Of truly is something to be proud of. Anna has written an authentic coming of age story with a strong voice, great characters and an insightful look into gender and sexual identity and neurodiversity, and how we could and should be more inclusive as a society. With friendship at the heart of the story, laugh-out-loud dialogue and a gorgeous slow-burn romance, readers are in for a treat.
Anna Zoe Quirke said:
With all its hope, rage, and an entire cast of queer and disabled characters, Something to be Proud Of is the story I both really needed and wanted to write. Imogen and Ollie were excellent company and brought me so much joy while I was writing their story over the COVID lockdowns. I’m beyond grateful to Little Tiger and my agent, Lucy Irvine, for giving me the chance to hopefully pass some of that joy along to readers. I’m also so grateful to Lucía for the beautiful cover that perfectly captures the Imogen and Ollie that have existed in my brain for years!
Lucy Irvine said:
The title says it all, really – I could not be prouder of Anna and their incredible story of friendship, community and activism. Imogen and Ollie stole my heart from their very first chapters, and I hope that all readers will see themselves within this cast. Delighted that Something to be Proud Of has found a home with Mattie and the brilliant Little Tiger team.
Little Tiger will publish Something to be Proud Of on 6th June 2024.
Anna Zoe Quirke (she/they) is a queer and neurodivergent writer and librarian from Lancashire. Her favourite thing to do is to write stories about chaotic queer people doing their darn best and finding the people who love them because of who they are and not in spite of it. Something to be Proud of is their first novel.
Author social media handles
Instagram: @annazoequirke
Twitter: @annazoequirke
I Was Raised By Robots by Guy Bass
I come from a big family. Like, really big. My nuclear family consisted of my mum, dad and brother. Sure, that might not sound as colossal as your own set up, with your three sisters and six brothers and twelve dads. But I haven’t included the robots … and there were a lot of robots. Every time I opened a book or comic or turned on the TV or went to the cinema or let my imagination wander, there they were, waiting for me, ready to entertain, engage and inspire – androids, automatons, machines and mechanoids galore. I’m not sure whether I adopted the robots or the robots adopted me, but as far as I was concerned, those mechanical marvels were as much my family as my mushy, organic relatives.
My robot family looked nothing like my human family. They were considerably more metal, with blinking lights and whirring servos and wheels for feet. They also had much cooler names (which I’m definitely not listing just to increase the word count of this blog) – how could my organic kin hope to compete with ‘bots named Twiki, Zax, T-Bob, Nono, Marvin, Robby, Rosey, Johnny 5, 7-Zark-7, K9, H.A.L. 9000, H.E.R.B.I.E., F.L.U.F.F.I, C.H.I.P., B.U.G., S.A.M.A.N.T.H.A., V.I.N.C.E.N.T., Old B.O.B. (don’t ask me what any of their names stand for – families don’t ask), Machine Man, Robotman, The Iron Man/Giant, Vision, Ultron, Jocasta, The Human Torch, Red Tornado, Hewey, Dewey, Louie, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and, of course, R2-D2 and C-3PO?
My robot family was not an assortment of mindless machines, however; K9 and C-3PO were the sort of patronising, know-it-all uncles that tend to drive you up the wall. T-Bob and Nono were little brothers who, for some reason, had been programmed to be annoying at least 96% of the time. Vision and Jocasta were older siblings who were slightly distant and aloof, but So. Unbelievably. Cool. Optimus Prime was a very serious parent, always ready to dish out wisdom or drop a moral message, while Megatron was, let’s face it, a far more fun father figure, if you ignored all the global conquest and/or domination (which, looking back, probably set a bad example for an eight-year-old keen to make an impression upon the world.) Indeed, in every way that counted, my robot family was just as human as my human family, if not more so. The fact that they weren’t actually human made them even more relatable … even more human. The fact that a robot’s humanity must be learned and earned perhaps makes it even more profound. Plus, Megatron was a hoot at Christmas, always shouting “I’ll crush you with my bare hands, Earthlings!” whenever anyone had more than their fair share of pigs in blankets.
In my new book, SCRAP, robots are given the job of preparing the far-off planet of Somewhere 513 for the arrival of human colonists. But, when the robots decide they want to keep the world for themselves, humanity itself is outlawed. As the robots reject their programming to become more human, the colonists are banished. Now, one lonely, rejected robot finds himself tied to the humans’ fate, when he discovers two children, Paige and Gnat, are still stuck on the planet, and desperate to escape. As Scrap and the children find family ties bind them together, Scrap must decide whether to reawaken the best side of his own humanity.
So, here’s to my robot family, and robot families everywhere, always ready to teach us more about ourselves.
Even if they have wheels for feet.