Kiran writes stories…

Poems: Grace

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 18:45:16 +0000

Grace
In the moments of his leaving himself
        his hands shook and could not take mine.
Instead he stared
        and handed through the silence
the slightest cup of my chin
        rolled my cheeks between his fingers
like dough, and in those seconds
	he still needed me,
and it was a blessing as complete as bread.
Inside the night-time minutes
        he held me with this gaze
until the slender tap of knuckle
	at his throat wound back and down.
I touched my palms in prayer
	to stay the longer held in that stare
as the trimmed nail of his tongue
 	lay still, and settled clasped into its last-grasp.

This poem won the Yeovil International Literary Prize for Poetry 2013.
To hear Kiran read further selected work, please visit her Soundcloud page by clicking here.

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Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year 2018

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 14:14:19 +0000

The Way Past Winter was named as Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year at Christmas last year. I was so busy being excited about this, I forgot to share it here! The overall winner was the wondrous Everything Under, written by my bestie Daisy Johnson, so it was a very wonderful time.

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Kirkus Reviews Books of the Year 2018 and USBBY Outstanding Books List 2019

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 14:10:44 +0000

While re-writing my bio for the US edition of The Way Past Winter (forthcoming from Chronicle Books in ‘Fall’ 2020), I discovered that The Island at the End of Everything was selected by Kirkus as one of their books of the year! Belatedly delighted, as Kirkus is the most influential literary reviewer in the US, and because Island is very much the book of my heart. It also appeared on the USBBY Outstanding International Books List 2019.

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The Deathless Girls

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 11:55:11 +0000

I am beside myself with excitement to finally be able to publicly talk about The Deathless Girls, my imagining of the origin stories of the so-called ‘brides’ of Dracula! This was a commission from Helen Thomas at Hachette Childrens’, as part of their new Bellatrix series. The series’ first publication is Becoming Dinah, by the inimitable Kit de Waal, inspired by Moby Dick and published in July. The Deathless Girls will follow in September this year. Read more about the books and series here.

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Chapter One…

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:23:53 +0000

It was a winter they would tell tales about. A winter that arrived so sudden and sharp, it stuck birds to branches, and caught the rivers in such a frost their spray froze and scattered down like clouded crystals on the stilled water. A winter that came, and never left…

Read on here.
Preorder The Way Past Winter here.

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The Way Past Winter is printed!

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:18:05 +0000

Last week, I headed to Chatham in Kent to see The Way Past Winter be bound. It was as ever a wonderful day, with the lovely Kevin showing Laura and Lucy (from Chicken House), my husband Tom, and me, around the amazing CPI Printing factory.

The Way Past Winter is my most beautifully-designed book yet. Helen Crawford-White has designed all my covers, and this is a hardback with gold foil, a gold ribbon, cloth feel, and stunning endpapers. I really hope you all love the inside as much as I love the outside! I also signed 2000 copies, which was most definitely a team effort.

You can watch the whole process on my Instagram saved stories. Just head to @Kiran_MH You can preorder The Way Past Winter here.

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The Guardian chooses The Way Past Winter as one of the 50 biggest books of Autumn 2018!

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:12:16 +0000

One of only five children’s books selected.
See the full list here.
Preorder The Way Past Winter here.

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The Literacy Tree selects The Way Past Winter!

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:09:48 +0000

And this is just the lovely opening! Read on here.
You can pre-order The Way Past Winter here.

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The Way Past Winter proofs

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Mon, 07 May 2018 16:46:56 +0000

Proofs of my third book for kids have arrived! And they are beautiful. These will be going out to a select list of readers, authors, teachers, reviewers, and of course my mum. They’re also my final chance to spot any typos before the first print run!

Luna modelling the proofs

It’s always a nerve-wracking time, but I’m quietly very proud of this story. I can’t wait to start hearing what people think. You can pre-order from Waterstones here, Am*zon here, and from Hive – thereby supporting your local bookshop – here.

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Vardø, coming 2020 from Picador

Kiran Millwood Hargrave — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 11:43:37 +0000

Here’s some news I’ve had to keep very quiet about…I’ve written a book for grown ups. Two weeks ago, it went out to publishers, and thirteen of them offered on it. Last week, I went to meet five of them, and ultimately decided to sign with Picador. The official announcement is here, and the Bookseller also ran a piece of the front page of the London Book Fair Daily:

Vardø has found a perfect home at Picador, and I can’t wait to get editing!

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