Why: Reviews of The Wren Hunt consistently remark on the difficulty in categorising the book for fear of pigeon-holing it into a restrictive genre, and for good reason. Caught in a web of deceit and conflicting loyalties, she holds the fate of the Augurs in her young hands. In a desperate bid to save them from their dwindling magic, she takes on a dangerous undercover assignment right in the heart of the Judge’s lair. The boys who torment Wren belong to the former and Wren’s people are part of the latter. Two factions reside within this community: the powerful Judges who control the nemeta, a source of power, and the Augurs, who have been driven into hiding in plain sight. The hunt takes on heavier meaning this year as Wren comes into her powers, the fairly useless – or so she thinks – gift of obscure visions. Only this version a little warped, involving the chase of the unfortunately named Wren Silke through the woods surrounding the isolated village. What: Every St Stephen’s Day, as per tradition, a group of boys in the Irish village of Kilshamble organise a Wren Hunt. The Wren Hunt, inspired by an Irish tradition, is her debut YA novel and the first of a series. She has written a collection of short stories, Moss, which bagged the Caine Prize in 2006, and has written a full-length novel, The Cutting Room. The Wren Hunt will be published in February 2018 with a second title following a year later.Who: Mary Watson moved to Ireland from South Africa over a decade ago and found herself captivated by the magical landscape she now calls home. Watson studied a PhD in Film Studies in Cape Town, South Africa, and creative writing at the University of Capet Town, but is currently living on the west coast of Ireland. I was taken with the idea of magic in the patterns formed by everyday things, and hoped to weave a world where the ordinary and the magical exist side by side.” To tell a story about a girl who, in searching for something, realises that it is she herself who is lost. Watson added: “I wanted to explore the idea of hunting, of being pursued or ensnared but in subtle ways. “The tension at the heart of The Wren Hunt makes it read like a thriller, but the high concept is backed up by exceptional writing.” “The setting is contemporary, but with a deep, ancient magic thinly veiled from view – it sizzles with romance, betrayal, deceit, lies and magic,” she said. Holgate said she was “reluctant” to pigeon-hole the genre because it was “so different from anything else out there”. The deal was brokered by editorial director Ellen Holgate and Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White. The Wren Hunt tells the story of two ancient powers fighting for survival and one girl, born of both, who will decide their fate. Bloomsbury Children’s Books has bought world rights to a debut YA novel by Mary Watson and one other title ahead of Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

The wren hunt