Cranachan Publishing

The Real Robert Burns Author Event Competitions

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us today—we hope you enjoyed joining Barbara and Victoria to celebrate Burns Day. Here you can find all the details for the competitions—get your entries in! If you’re looking for the free Reflective Reading resource packs for each book, click here to download.

We hope you might consider purchasing copies of these wonderful books—available on our website and in all the usual places. And if you’ve enjoyed the event today, please consider buying us a virtual coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/cranachan I think the authors definitely deserve a cuppa after that!

Did you miss the event? No worries—simply click here to watch the recording!

Barbara’s Smuggler ‘WANTED’ Poster Competition

Please design a ‘Wanted’ poster for a Smuggler. Be sure to include a picture—make him or her look like a real baddie, as well as the reward, date, place and details of their crime. You could even give them a scary sounding nickname. It needs to be eye-catching and old-looking. Have fun!

• The competition is open to any primary school pupils in P4-P7/Y3-Y6—only one entry per pupil.
• The poster should be completed on plain A4 paper—no ready-print templates.
• You can enter by emailing a photo of each poster to scattyscribbler@gmail.com, or by tweeting images to @scattyscribbler using #SmugglerBurns.
•If you prefer to post class entries, please email me at scattyscribbler@gmail.com for a postal address and include entrant’s name, school address and primary class/year on the back of each poster. Please do not post entries to the Cranachan Books office!
• The winner will receive a Quicksand Swamp kit, a reading light for secret night-time reading and certificate.
• Two Runners-up will receive a reading light for secret night-time reading and certificate.
• Winning entries will be displayed on my website: www.barbarahenderson.co.uk/news-and-events/
• Closing date for entries is Friday 4th March 2022.

Victoria’s Hag Storm Magic Spell Competition

Simply click to download a copy of the following:

Magic Spell Competition Rules and Items to Inspire a Spell

Entry Form

Ordering Books for Schools

Our books are available to purchase online and in all good bookshops. Should you wish to buy class sets, or place a bulk order as part of a library refresh, we are pleased to offer the following discounts.

Spend	Save	Code
£50	15%	15OFF
£100	25%	25OFF
£250	35%	35OFF
£500	45%	45OFF

Enter code at checkout, max discount on Reflective Reading orders is 25%

By buying your books directly from Cranachan you are helping support a small Scottish business and our authors—thank you 😀

For order queries email us at: orders@cranachanpublishing.co.uk

Cover Reveal: The Rewilders by Lindsay Littleson

We are super excited to reveal the cover for The Rewilders. Written by Carnegie-nominated author Lindsay Littleson, The Rewilders will be our first title of 2022 and is out on 3rd March. After Esmé’s gran accidentally steals a lynx kitten, Esmé and school ‘bad boy’ Calum, take on a dangerous mission to return it to the wild in the Scottish Highlands in this thrilling tale with themes of rewilding, conservation, growing up and friendship at its heart.

The wild is waiting…

Esme is annoyed and braced for boredom when she’s sent to stay with her gran for the weekend, until she discovers a terrible mistake. Cora, the abandoned kitten Gran found on the Rothiecraig Estate, is in fact a wild lynx kit and she is growing—fast!

Suddenly, Esme find herself on a dangerous mission to rewild Cora, along with Callum Docherty for company, the school’s ‘bad boy’, and Shug, the worst guard dog in the world.

The situation takes a terrifying turn when the children pitch their tents on a bleak Highland moor and hear wolves howling outside…

Cover Reveal: Hag Storm by Victoria Williamson

After a sneak preview during our Get the Scoop: Books and Authors Preview Party back in April, we’re excited to be revealing the cover of Victoria Williamson’s new book: Hag Storm! Filled with mystery and magic, Hag Storm is a spooky, historical adventure with a supernatural twist, based on the life of Robert Burns and one of his most famous and best-loved poems, Tam O’Shanter.

We hope you love the cover as much as we do! We were very lucky to work with children’s illustrator and publishing Master’s student Elise Carmichael to bring this one to life, and we can’t wait to see it in print. Hag Storm is out on 4th November this year and we’ve no doubt, the witches will be gathering…

The witches are gathering…

In 1771, Robert Burns, future national poet and folk hero of Scotland, has big problems.

12-year-old Rab spends all of his time doing backbreaking work on his family’s farm instead of attending school, but when he finds a hag stone in one of the fields, everything changes.

Looking through its circular hole, he sees witches gathering in a coming storm, and they’ve set their sights on his family. Can Rab save his sisters from the clutches of the witches’ coven before their Halloween ceremony in the old kirk?

Book Launch: The Chessmen Thief with Barbara Henderson & Kirsty Crommie

Did you miss the The Chessmen Thief Book Launch with Barbara Henderson & Kirsty Crommie? Catch up with the online event here as we celebrate the launch and publication of Barbara Henderson’s sixth children novel. Sit back, relax and listen to Barbara and book blogger Kirsty Crommie in conversation as they talk about this thrilling Viking adventure!

‘Full of imagination and adventure, this is a book with the perfect combination of ancient Norse and Scottish culture, of intrigue and crime and the inherent magic of folk tales and poetry‘
Gemma E McLaughlin

THE NATIONAL

Win. Lose. Survive.

I was the boy with a plan. Now I am the boy with nothing.

From the moment 12-year-old Kylan hatches a plan to escape from his Norse captors, and return to Scotland to find his mother, his life becomes a dangerous game.
The precious Lewis Chessmen pieces—which he helped carve—hold the key to his freedom, but he will need all his courage and wit to triumph against Sven Asleifsson, the cruellest Viking in the realm. One false move could cost him his life.

Barbara Henderson has woven a thrilling origin story around the enduring mystery of the Lewis Chessmen, their creation in Norway, and how they ended up buried in the Hebrides before being discovered on Lewis in 1831.

Anne Glennie, Publisher @cranachanbooks

Barbara Henderson, Author @scattyscribbler

Kirsty Crommie, Book Blogger @KCrommie

Cranachan Catalogue Children’s and YA 2021

Welcome to this year’s Cranachan Catalogue. Curl up with a cuppa and browse our brand new titles for 2021 and our braw backlist too.

Open a book and open a door to another world: play a deadly game of chess against the cruellest Viking in the realm; prepare for the race of your life in the run up to this year’s Olympic games; face a storm of witches at the Auld Kirk in Alloway; and return to Eilanmor for a faerie battle in The Sword of Light…

Your adventures await!

Cover reveal: The Race by Roy Peachey

We are finally able to reveal the cover for The Race by Roy Peachey. Out on 3rd June, with sport as the central subject, The Race combines contemporary drama with illuminating historical flashbacks, and explores crucial themes including, adoption, racism, family and friendship. An inspiring tale of perseverance and personal achievement, it’s a perfect read for young people in the run up to the 2021 Olympics.

Get ready for the race of your life…

12-year-old Lili is preparing to race in front of the Queen as part of her school’s anniversary celebrations. Having been adopted from China as a baby, Lili also has issues to work through. When her training is thrown into chaos by events outside her control, she must choose between family and the race of her life.

Meanwhile in 1944, Eric Liddell, hero of the 1924 Olympics, finds himself in a war zone. Separated from his family, he is getting ready to run his final race in a prison camp in China. But his lifelong principles are challenged by the imprisoned children he is trying to help…

Praise for The Race

‘An original, immensely readable take on the Eric Liddell story for the 21st century.’

SALLY MAGNUSSON

‘Not your typical happily ever after, Roy has written a wonderfully relatable and inclusive tale, where all are welcome, and the beauty of sport brings everyone together in the end. There are life lessons to be learned in this inspiring story with friendship at its heart.’

SHAUNAGH BROWN
International Rugby Player and Former Commonwealth Games Athlete

The Race by Roy Peachey

Children’s Fiction 8-12 | Contemporary | Sport (Olympics tie-in)

978-1-911279-83-9 | £7.99 |3^rd June 2021

B-format PB | 200 pp tbc

Cranachan acquires children’s adventure about Robert Burns

Scottish indie Cranachan, is to publish Hag Storm by Victoria Williamson, a spooky, historical adventure based on the life of Robert Burns and one of his most famous and best-loved poems, Tam O’Shanter.

The children’s novel, acquired in a world all-language rights deal directly from the author, will be published in January 2022 to coincide with the Scottish bard’s birthday celebrations.

The synopsis reads: In 1771, Robert Burns, future national poet and folk hero of Scotland, has big problems. 12-year-old Rab spends all of his time doing backbreaking work on his family’s farm instead of attending school, but when he finds a hag stone in one of the fields, everything changes. Looking through its circular hole, he sees witches gathering in a coming storm, and they’ve set their sights on his family. It is up to Rab to save his sisters from the clutches of the witches’ coven before their Halloween ceremony in the old kirk.

Anne Glennie, publisher at Cranachan, said: “To have Robert Burns brought to life in this way is fantastic. In Hag Storm he is no longer a pale picture of an old man that children today can’t identify with. This gripping story, with a supernatural twist, is wonderfully evocative of the time period and is filled with mystery and magic. Currently, there is no published fictional account of Robert Burns’ childhood, and so this book will fit a unique gap in the market.”

Williamson added: “I have fond memories of the yearly Burns competition at primary school, when pupils would study the poetry of Robert Burns. Tam O’ Shanter captured my imagination, and ever since, the idea of a spooky children’s book based around the life of the young Robert Burns and an encounter with the witches on the Brig o’Doon has been bubbling away in my head. I can’t wait to share it with young readers.”

Williamson is also the author of the MG novels The Boy with the Butterfly Mind (Kelpies, 2019) and The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle (Kelpies, 2018).

Cover Reveal: The Sword of Light (Book 3 in the Four Treasures series) by Caroline Logan

Our only YA title for 2021 is the hotly anticipated third book in the Four Treasures series by Caroline Logan. Be reunited with Ailsa and her ragtag gang of creatures and misfits as we pick up where Book 2, The Cauldron of Life, left us reeling from all the plot twists and turns!

Haven’t joined the journey to Eilanmor yet? Start this Scottish fantasy epic now with The Stone of Destiny. In the meantime, we must show patience as The Sword of Light isn’t out until 7th October 2021. But to whet your appetite, here’s the cover with unicorn Laire taking pride of place.

Get ready for battle…

With everyone still healing after their encounter with the faerie queen, Ailsa MacAra had hoped to spend time with her long lost brother. But something strange happened to Cameron in the land of the fae, revealing that the world is under threat. Wicked and powerful forces have come to Ossiana and there is only one way to stop it: find The Four Treasures and ready yourself for battle.

Relying on rumours and secrets, Ailsa and her friends are sent off to scour the kingdom for the mythical weapons: to the north, where tales of witches and monsters are told; to the faerie court, where the defeated faerie queen might be the key to their salvation; and to a remote village, where fae have been disappearing for years.

Now, with war brewing across the continent, they’re in a race against time to find The Four Treasures. But will the magical objects be enough to defeat a god?

Covid-19 Permissions for Online Learning 2021

Thank you to all the teachers who have been contacting us about continuing to read our books to their classes. There is no need to email us to ask for permission, we simply ask that you follow these guidelines:

Please note at the beginning of the video or audio recording that you are reading with permission of Cranachan, and note the title, author (& illustrator if appropriate) of the book. Live reading to your class is also permitted.

Please only post your video through your school’s private platform or through another channel with private or limited access for your pupils only. Please delete your video or disable access once you are finished with it.

You are all stars. Thank you for all you are doing.

Stay safe and take care,

From your pals @cranachanbooks x

Cover Reveal: The Chessmen Thief by Barbara Henderson

We are super excited to reveal the cover for Barbara Henderson’s sixth (!) children’s novel The Chessmen Thief which will be coming to a bookshop near you on 29th April 2021!

Win. Lose. Survive.

I was the boy with a plan. Now I am the boy with nothing.

From the moment 12-year-old Kylan hatches a plan to escape from his Norse captors, and return to Scotland to find his mother, his life becomes a dangerous game.
The precious Lewis Chessmen pieces—which he helped carve—hold the key to his freedom, but he will need all his courage and wit to triumph against Sven Asleifsson, the cruellest Viking in the realm.
One false move could cost him his life.

Barbara Henderson has woven a thrilling origin story around the enduring mystery of the Lewis Chessmen, their creation in Norway, and how they ended up buried in the Hebrides before being discovered on Lewis in 1831.

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