A Dubai writer has landed a book deal with the publishing house responsible for discovering J.K. Rowling. British schoolteacher Lucinda Martin is set to release her debut novel with Chicken House, the UK based publishing firm who introduced Rowling to the masses with the mega selling Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Martin's book, The Moth and Nightingale, should appear to young Potter fans. The fantasy novel, aimed at children aged eight to 13, is based in 1937 and follows young girl's friendship with an elderly woman she meets in the woods.
The book earned Martin second place in the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature’s Montegrappa First Fiction Competition last year. “The offer from Chicken House came through at the end of December,” Martin said. “It’s the best present I have ever had.”
The competition will return for another edition as part of the literature festival, running from March 3 to 7 at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.
For details go to www.emirateslitfest.com
