Simon & Schuster Children's Books Announces New Young Fiction Series by William Sutcliffe

Simon and Schuster Children's Books (UK) today announced the acquisition of a new illustrated young fiction series from bestselling adult author William Sutcliffe.

Jane Griffiths, Commissioning Editor, bought world rights in two books from Felicity Rubinstein of Lutyens and Rubinstein.

The first book in the series, The Circus of Thieves, is an hilariously off-beat adventure aimed at the nine-plus readership, featuring an eccentric cast of circus performers, an evil ringmaster, two very daring children and a variety of weird and wonderful animals. When Shank's Impossible Circus comes to Hannah's small town, her life gets turned upside down as she finds herself on an adventure with Billy, the son of ringmaster, Armitage Shanks, as they try to foil his dastardly plans.

William Sutcliffe is a bestselling author of Are You Experienced? which has been published in 20 foreign territories and has sold over half a million copies. The Circus of Thieves is his first children's fiction series. Simon & Schuster has paired Sutcliffe with sought-after illustrator, David Tazzyman, whose credits include the hugely successful Mr Gum series written by Andy Stanton.

Sutcliffe said: "My son has spent the last ten years teaching me what he finds funny, and I wrote The Circus of Thieves for him. I very much hope this series makes adults and children laugh together. I'm delighted that the funniest illustrator in the business - David Tazzyman - has agreed to sprinkle his comedy magic over my words."

Jane Griffiths added: "William has created a wonderfully madcap adventure with a brilliant mix of slapstick humour and word-play that will appeal to children and adults alike. David's art style is a perfect fit for William's writing and I can't wait to see him bring the characters to life."

The Circus of Thieves will be published in late spring 2014, with the second, as yet untitled novel, to follow in 2015.