World rights to TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award-winning author Melanie Florence’s THE ONE ABOUT THE BLACKBIRD has been acquired by Samantha Swenson at Tundra Books, to be illustrated by Governor General’s Award-winning author-illustrator Matt James!
THE ONE ABOUT THE BLACKBIRD is a picture book about a grandfather teaching a boy to play guitar, and how their relationship and roles change over the years.
Publication is slated for spring 2025!
Amy Tompkins at the Transatlantic Agency represented the author and Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists represented the illustrator.
Melanie Florence is an award-winning writer of Cree and Scottish heritage based in Toronto. She was close to her grandfather as a child, a relationship that sparked her interest in writing about Aboriginal themes and characters.
She is the author of MISSING NIMAMA, which won the 2016 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the 2017 Forest of Reading Golden Oak Award and was a finalist for the 2017 First Nation Communities READ award. Her picture book, STOLEN WORDS, won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award and was given a starred review by Kirkus, who listed it as one of the best picture books of 2017 to give readers strength. Her other books include RIGHTING CANADA’S WRONGS: RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS and the teen novels HE WHO DREAMS, THE MISSING, ONE NIGHT, and REZ RUNAWAY.
In her spare time, Melanie watches Doctor Who and searches for the perfect horror film, debates the DC vs Marvel Universes and spends as much time as possible singing show tunes and trying not to trip over things. She lives in Toronto with her husband and their two children.
Congratulations Melanie!