Publishing Deal - Kathryn Erskine

In today's Booktrade, news that Usborne has bought Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine for publication in 2012:

Usborne are delighted to announce the acquisition of Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine, a heart-warming story of loss and recovery, which won the US 2010 National Book Award.

Fiction Director, Rebecca Hill, has bought the UK rights to Mockingbird...[and] said of the acquisition:

"We are over the moon to be publishing Kathryn Erskine's prize-winning novel in the UK. Poignant, insightful and beautifully written: it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, but ultimately it gives you hope. Mockingbird can't fail to touch everyone who reads it."

Mockingbird tells the story of Caitlin, an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's syndrome, and her widowed father as they try to deal with the aftermath of the tragic school shooting that led to the death of Caitlin's idolized older brother Devon. The story expertly and sensitively guides readers through Caitlin's world, so they can glimpse what life must be like when you need a chart just to understand facial expressions and a set of rules to even begin trying to interact with others. And beyond those struggles of daily life, it tackles a much deeper and more painful problem: how do you mourn your big brother when you don't understand emotions?

Mockingbird will be published in January 2012