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Scholastic UK has acquired three books from debut UK author Gabrielle Kent.
Helen Thomas, commissioning editor Fiction for Scholastic UK, for world rights to three novels by Kent with agent Ben Illis from The Ben Illis Agency.
Alfie Bloom: The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle is the first book in Kent’s middle-grade fantasy series.
Thomas said: “I fell instantly in love with this wonderful, magical story and was completely absorbed throughout. Gabrielle has created a new hero in Alfie Bloom, and a rich, exciting world that readers will want to dive right into and explore.”
Kent has worked in and around the videogames industry for 15 years. As well as teaching, she directs, hosts and programmes Animex, the UK’s largest annual games and animation festival. A new web-based game that allows readers to journey beyond the story with an interactive experience will be launched to coincide with the publication of Alfie Bloom: The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle, which was designed and developed as part of a project with Kent and her gaming students at Teesside University.
Rachel Partridge, group marketing director at Scholastic UK, said: “Gabrielle’s fantastic gaming expertise makes this acquisition particularly exciting. We’re looking forward to developing a unique launch for Gabrielle and this brilliant series.”
Illis said that Scholastic is the right fit for Kent, with “a list that is well-positioned to take full advantage of Gabrielle's gaming background and make the most of Alfie's digital potential”.
Scholastic UK will publish Alfie Bloom: The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle in summer 2015.