Hello! The UK cover for The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away was revealed this week! It was designed by Katharine Millichope and illustrated by Melissa Castrillón, while the internal illustrations are by Elisa Paganelli (this is the same team who illustrated the first book). What do you think?

The first mailing of ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) was also sent out. They have a pared-back cover with some gorgeous gold foiling, samples of internal illustrations rather than being fully illustrated, and include a letter from me.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice a sneaky peek at the cover for A Year of Fairy Tales (publishing next autumn) and that all my other covers have had a slight update (most noticeable on Thief, which has a new colourway).

Usborne have uploaded a sampler too, so you can see a few of the internal illustrations and read my author letter, the prologue and first chapter of The House with Chicken legs Runs Away here. Let me know what you think!

Pre-orders massively help authors, as they tell booksellers that a book is wanted which nudges them to order copies, and these copies (depending where they are bought) count as first week sales which can help books reach the charts, which in turn increases visibility so can drive more sales! So, if you fancy supporting this book while gifting a copy to future you, The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away is available at all the usual places, with signed dedicated copies available from two of my local indies Bookends and Sam Read Bookseller.

I have two more things to say! Firstly, I have an ARC to giveaway! Simply reply to this message with a hello or just an emoji, and I'll pop your name in a hat and do a draw next week.

And lastly, it's almost the winter holidays, so I'd love to give you at least one book recommendation that would make a great seasonal gift. The Other Father Christmas by Jasmine Richards and Priscilla Mante, writing as Serena Holly, and illustrated by Shahab Shamshirsaz is the perfect festive story: exciting, heartwarming, and glittering with magic.

And of course the most wintry of my own books is The Snow Girl, illustrated by Melissa Castrillón, which is now out in paperback (and a few hardbacks are still around too). (A close second for 'most wintry of my books' is The Girl Who Speaks Bear, illustrated by Kathrin Honesta).



All that is left to do now is wish you all a wonderful holiday (if you are having one!), and all the very best for 2026!

With warmest wishes,

Sophie Anderson