A former lecturer has found international success with a collection of children’s rhymes she began writing while working at Huddersfield Technical College.
Anna Best’s book, Aunt Grizelda’s Treasury of Grim and Grisly Rhymes – a darkly humorous, Roald Dahl-like anthology – has been snapped up by children’s book publisher Hogs Back Books.
And it has also grabbed the attention of Chicago-based publisher Trafalgar Square, a leading distributor of UK and Australian children’s books, which plans to promote the title across the USA next spring.
Anna, whose surname was Foster when she worked at the college, said: “Much of the inspiration for the comedy in the rhymes came from the classes I taught at Huddersfield. The wit and comic timing of many of my students was brilliant.”
Although Anna always received positive reactions from agents and publishers, she was unable to land a publishing deal at first.
It was only after losing her job at Calderdale College – when the department in which she was working closed – that Anna began writing verses again.
She said: “My husband persuaded me not to rush into a new job, but instead to concentrate on writing. It was too good an opportunity to resist; and when I looked at the rhymes again, they still made me laugh, so I decided to write more and try the market again.”
Anna’s breakthrough came when she teamed up with Natallia Pavaliayeva, an illustrator and professor of English at the State University of Belarus. The two met online when Anna posted a video link to one of her poems on comedian Miranda Hart’s Twitter page.
“Natallia contacted me at once to ask if she could illustrate it,” said Anna. “I agreed and as soon as I saw her work, I knew its quirkiness was exactly right.”
The pair sent out a card of one of the rhymes with accompanying illustrations and Hogs Back Books responded immediately.
“It was a dream come true,” said Anna. “I was even more delighted when Hogs Back Books agreed to use Natallia as illustrator. Publishers often choose a different artist to the one the writer puts forward, but the commissioning editor was as convinced as I was that Natallia would be perfect for the job.”
Anna, who lives at Warley, near Halifax, and Natallia are now working on a second in a series of books, and Anna, in the guise of Aunt Grizelda, will be appearing at Waterstone’s in Horsham, Sussex, on Halloween to recite poems from the book.
Aunt Grizelda’s Treasury of Grim and Grisly Tales is published by Hogs Back Books at £6.999 in paperback and £9.99 in hardback.
