Nosy Crow snaps up two thrilling standalone titles from Alastair Chisholm - Nosy Crow Skip to content
Posted by Julia, August 12, 2019

Nosy Crow snaps up two thrilling standalone titles from Alastair Chisholm

Nosy Crow is delighted to announce the acquisition of two middle-grade standalone novels by author Alastair Chisholm. The first novel, Orion Lost, is a hugely gripping science-fiction adventure – perfect for fans of Star Wars and Mortal Engines. UK publication is scheduled for January 2020, with a second standalone title to be published in January 2021.

Tom Bonnick, Senior Commissioning Editor at Nosy Crow, bought world rights in all languages from Caroline Montgomery at Rupert Crew.

Orion Lost follows Orion, a transport ship which is four months out of Earth when catastrophe strikes – leaving the ship and everyone on board stranded in deep space. Suddenly it’s up to thirteen-year-old Beth and her friends to navigate through treacherous and uncharted territory to reach safety. But a heavily-damaged ship, space pirates, a mysterious alien species, and an artificial intelligence that Beth doesn’t know if she can trust means that getting home has never been so difficult… With incredible twists and a fast-paced, action-packed story, this is an unputdownable science fiction adventure from an exciting new voice in middle-grade fiction.

Alastair Chisholm is a children’s author and puzzle creator. As a puzzle creator he wrote quite a lot of books of Sudoku and other puzzles for kids and grown-ups, and as an author he writes picture books and middle-grade fiction. Orion Lost is his first novel. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, two teenagers, and a cat named Maudie.

Alastair comments: ‘With Orion Lost, I wanted to write the kind of story I loved when I was young – with danger, and mystery, and cool sci-fi, and kids who sometimes get it right but sometimes don’t (because that’s what people do) but who are, in the end, awesome. And I’m delighted to be bringing it to life with Nosy Crow – their support and help has been fantastic, and I’m really excited to join the team!’

Tom Bonnick, Senior Commissioning Editor at Nosy Crow, comments: ‘From the first page, I could not put this book down. Thrilling, atmospheric, and with some of the best twists I’ve ever come across, Orion Lost is a fantastic blend of classic science fiction and contemporary storytelling. I’m delighted to be working with Alastair – a hugely exciting new voice in middle-grade fiction.’

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