middle grade fiction

Announcing the acquisition of Only the Wild, by Victor Kelleher

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Christmas Press is delighted to announce that we have acquired world rights in Only the Wild, a brilliant new novel for upper middle-grade/YA readers by multi-award-winning author Victor Kelleher. The novel will be published in September 2026 under the Eagle Books imprint and was acquired via Margaret Connolly of Margaret Connolly and Associates.

Christmas Press publishing director Sophie Masson said, ‘We are proud to have published three of Victor’s novels already, Wanderer (2022) The Cave (2024) and The Lastling (2025) and are thrilled to have acquired this extraordinary new novel from one of Australia’s greatest writers for children, whose brilliant work continues to enthral readers and to break new ground. In Only the Wild, Victor has created a reimagined future Antarctica, or ‘Great Southland’, where a vicious war is raging between fiercely determined clans of small farmers and a ferocious band of eco-warriors called the Wilders, whose aim is to eradicate all human presence in the Great Southland and return it to wilderness. Only the Wild is a brilliant mix of exciting adventure and thought-provoking themes, which raises many timely questions.’

An intriguing timeline introduces us to what brought history to this pass, and then the reader is plunged straight into the precarious world of Evan, son of a farming family, who dreams of finding a middle way between the warring factions, an unpopular idea on both sides which will lead him into great danger. After rescuing Emmy, a little girl who’s the sole survivor of an attack on a neighbouring family, he is confronted by a Wilder, a ruthless young woman named Reyne, and only just manages to escape with the child. But now Reyne is on his trail…and what happens next will set the scene for an extraordinary chain of events that will reach across time to change the fate of the Great Southland.

Victor Kelleher explains: ‘More than anything else, it was my long interest in the Rewilding movement that inspired me to write Only the Wild. In particular, I was drawn in by the ongoing debates. Should a rewilded area exclude humans? Or include them? If you’re going to argue the merits of re-introducing species such as wolves and bears and big cats, how can you in all conscience exclude us, the top predator? Ah, say the opponents of that view, humans are a special case: they’re the ones who destroyed wilderness in the first place. And so the arguments go on and on. Rather than join in, I set out to write a novel that embodied the very spirit of such disputes, imagining a future reforested Antarctica, completely free of ice, fought over by rival groups: farmers, and the Wilders. And then there’s Evan, who sees this great southland as his home, as long as he is prepared to live in tune with nature. This three-part struggle, and its resolution, is at the heart of the novel.’

We have acquired another wonderful Victor Kelleher novel!

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Christmas Press is delighted to announce that we have acquired world rights in The Lastling, a brilliant new science fiction novel for upper middle-grade readers by multi-award-winning author Victor Kelleher. The novel will be published in April 2025 under the Eagle Books imprint and was acquired via Margaret Connolly of Margaret Connolly and Associates. It follows the author’s Wanderer (2022) which was shortlisted for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, and The Cave (April 2024).

Christmas Press publishing director Sophie Masson said, ‘This is the third novel by Victor that we’ve had the pleasure of acquiring, and we are thrilled to be able to publish his extraordinary new book. With its Android and human protagonists, The Lastling is both an extraordinary adventure set in a disturbing future, and also a timely and thought-provoking exploration of what it really means to be human.’

Guido is an Android whose job it is to guide humans through the Wilderness Park, last remaining tract of unspoiled country, while Verne, a human girl, is a thief, working in the city. When Enforcers are dispatched to eliminate all the Androids, Guido, desperate to survive, does the forbidden thing and disobeys a direct order, triggering dire consequences. Years later, Verne, who knows nothing of Guido, is hired to break into the home of an old Enforcer and retrieve a mysterious weapon. It is then that her and Guido’s stories intersect. What happens next is as compelling as it is unexpected, setting both Verne and Guido on a path that reveals dangerous truths about the world they thought they knew, as well as forging a bond of trust between them, despite their differences.

As to what inspired the novel, Victor Kelleher said: ‘Artificial intelligence, robotics, and the whole notion of the android have been much in the news recently, and rightly so, in light of current technology. Yet underlying this interest is a much longer-standing issue: will AI be friendly to us, or will it threaten our human world? Many novels and films have offered an answer to this question. Some, like the film Terminator, give us two possible answers – AI as both friend and mortal enemy.  So what does The Lastling add to this debate? At one level, like Terminator, it gives two answers, in the forbidding person of Brother John and the gentle figure of Guido. However, it also poses deeper questions. How does an android as gentle as Guido survive in the face of both AI and human aggression? How does he interact with someone as deeply human as Verne? And how does he out-think his own programming? Is such independence on his part even possible? And if so, is he, in some profound sense, also human? Now there’s a scary thought! And it’s that scary thought, more than any other, that inspired me to write this novel.’

Victor Kelleher(right) and Sophie Masson at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards announcement event, 2023

Fabulous review for The Key to Rome

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There’s a new, fabulous review for The Key to Rome on the popular Read Plus blog. Here’s a short extract:

Highly recommended. Sophie Masson is a master at weaving historical facts into captivating stories, and this book is no exception….The exciting plot moves along well, and readers are drawn into the dangerous game Livia is playing when she tries to figure out what the key means and why her uncle and his enemies will do anything to get or destroy it.  But will they uncover the truth in time to stay alive?  Detailed background notes and a glossary at the back of the book are very helpful additions for young readers.

You can read the whole review here.

Cover reveal: The Cave, by Victor Kelleher

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We are delighted to reveal the striking, powerful cover of The Cave, Victor Kelleher’s forthcoming new middle-grade novel, which we will be publishing in April 2024. The cover is the work of the wonderful illustrator Lorena Carrington, who has also created several other beautiful covers for us, including Victor’s 2022 book, Wanderer, which was shortlisted for the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Isn’t the cover gorgeous!

An exciting story set in a richly-recreated Paleolithic past, The Cave is both an extraordinary adventure and a moving exploration of loss, survival and courage. You can read more about the story here.

Here’s what Victor had to say about the genesis of the novel: ‘For almost as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by pre-history. In particular by the question of how our early ancestors, starting out as helpless wanderers on the plains of Africa, went on to become secure cave dwellers and greatly feared hunters. How did this great change come about? Clearly, the discovery of fire must have played a part. And so, too, the creation of better weapons and tools. But how did the change actually occur? That’s precisely the story I’ve tried to tell in The Cave. In order to do so, I’ve crammed many years of struggle and defeat into the short lives of one old woman and two young teenagers; and followed them through the seasons as they fight, not just to survive, but to turn the tables on the savage creatures that saw them only as prey. For me, there was something especially poignant about telling their story at this point in time, when we run the risk of destroying the very world they strove so hard to win.’

Wanderer and The Key to Rome in Kids’ Corner

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We’re delighted that Victor Kelleher’s Wanderer and Sophie Masson’s The Key to Rome have been featured in the newest edition of Kids’ Corner, a fabulous digital magazine from the NSW Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia. They’ve been included in a feature called Legends and Journeys, and come with some comments from Victor and Sophie.

You can read the whole issue here–the relevant pages are from 9-11, inclusive.

Another excellent review for The Key to Rome!

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There’s an excellent new review, by Debra Williams, of The Key to Rome. The review was published on the popular Buzz Words site. This is what she said:

This is a first-class middle-grade historical adventure. It is set in Ancient Rome, in the province of Britannia, and the year is AD84. When motherless and only child Livia’s father dies, she is orphaned. On his death bed, her father gives her a mysterious key with instructions to find his brother, a former centurion, and give him the key.

12-year-old Livia sets out two days later, on her old horse, determined to find the estranged uncle, whom her father guaranteed would give her a home. The future journey was going to be neither smooth nor easy, with many pitfalls. Arriving at her uncle’s house, he has gone, and Livia is unable to find out where he is. Along the way, Livia is aided by a young runaway servant, Mato, who has a journey of his own to complete, after hearing of his mother’s illness. He also claims to know where her uncle is.

So begins a treacherous journey of danger, lies, deceit and mistrust. There are heart-stopping moments as the reader becomes absorbed in Livia’s quest, and the deadly cat-and-mouse games with various characters, Roman and otherwise.

Multi-award-winning author Sophie Masson has carefully crafted a believable and suspenseful adventure. Her details of the period have been thoroughly researched to create an intriguing historical mystery.

This book will appeal to readers 10+ years.

Another great review for The Key to Rome!

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There’s another great review for The Key to Rome, which has just appeared on writer Sue Bursztynski’s Great Raven blog.

Here’s a short extract:

Here is another one of the talented Sophie Masson’s exciting historical adventures. Many of them have fantasy elements but this is a straight historical mystery, well researched and with a useful historical background and glossary at the back. 

The cover art and internals, including a map, are drawn by Lorena Carrington, a gifted Aussie artist who has worked with Sophie Masson before. 

Livia is a strong leading character who refuses to give up, even when the quest for her uncle looks as if it might be useless. She weaves together the clues to lead her in the right direction. 

This novel, aimed at ages about nine to twelve, reads like a Rosemary Sutcliff adventure, perfect for young readers who enjoy history and are inspired by strong characters their own age. It’s also not a bad place to start children on historical fiction.

You can read the whole review here.