UK Cover Reveals: Burn Mark by Laura Powell, The Glimpse by Claire Merle +++ Introducing a new debut author from Simon & Schuster!

The latest UK cover reveals and exciting YA acquisition news are coming your way...

First up The Sopranos meets Witch Child with a touch of Spooks in Laura Powell's Burn Mark from Bloomsbury which sees witch-crime take to the streets of East London.

If you'd like to find out more about Burn Mark, read an extract or even be in with a chance to win an exclusive proof copy, check out Hooked on Books Bloomsbury's new Facebook page dedicated to all things YA.

You can also keep up to date with all the latest news by following @hooked_books on twitter.

Burn Mark by Laura Powell

Publisher: Bloomsbury.
Release date: June 2012


Cleo is from a family of witches. She is desperate to develop the ‘Fae’ and become a witch herself.

Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition and his privileged life is very different to the world of witches that he lives alongside.

And then on the same day, Cleo and Lucas both develop the Fae. In one fell stroke, Cleo and Lucas’s lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not . . .

Next up is one for fans of YA dystopian fiction. The Glimpse from Claire Merle releases from Faber & Faber in June 2012.

Find out more about The Glimpse on the dedicated Facebook page www.facebook.com/theglimpse and THE SPARK page www.facebook.com/thesparkpage, Faber's exciting new online community where books provide the inspiration for young talent. 

The Glimpse by Claire Merle
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Release date: June 2012


Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?

In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.

Do certain elements of these covers remind anyone else of the covers for two pretty well known YA books? If anyone has any thoughts on the books I'm thinking of, let me know in comments, and I'll let you know if you guessed right! :)



Now onto exciting acquisition news from Simon & Schuster UK who have signed up a debut author for both a funny fiction and a chilling dystopia...

The Disappeared by Candida Harper

Harpers first novel, The Disappeared, begins a hard-hitting thriller series, set in a future where children are segregated into institutions that range from comfortable Learning Communities to prison-likeAcademies. Seventeen-year-old Jackson is an academic high flyer, living in a top Learning Community, but when he is sent on an errand with his best friend, the two boys are attacked, leaving Jackson badly beaten and his friend dead. Jackson returns to the Learning Community only to be dismissed by his teachers, who claim not to know him. He is sent to an Academy, and finds himself immersed in a harsh, violent, semi-articulate society where the students have created their own hierarchy based on fighting ability. Jackson starts to realise that his whole life has been based on half-truths, and as he builds alliances and begins to educate those closest to him, a plan for rebellion and escape gradually comes into shape. The Disappeared will be published under the name C. J. Harper and is scheduled for publication in February 2013, with a second book in the series to follow in 2014.

Have a Little Faith by Candida Harper

The second series from Harper begins with Have a Little Faith. Being fourteen is a minefield: with fashion dilemmas, teacher trauma, embarrassing parents and boy drama, Faith is just hoping to make it through Year Ten without too many disasters. But when she and her best friend Megs sign up to take part in an inter-school choir with the local boys comprehensive, Faith's life gets even more complicated. Just how is she supposed to concentrate on becoming the next Cheryl Cole when she's trying to understand how teenage boys minds work? Have a Little Faith will be published in May 2013, under the name Candy Harper, with a second book to follow.

What the Publishers are Saying

"Candida Harper is a rare find: an author who can write convincing and engaging novels in two very different genres. From the page-turning, atmospherically-rich thriller, The Disappeared, which had everyone in the office gripped, to Have a Little Faith, a novel that makes you laugh-out-loud with its perfectly-pitched teen angst, and which is bound to win the hearts of fans of Louise Rennison and Joanna Nadin. I'm really happy to have acquired two such fantastic titles from a brilliant debut author, and I know Candida is going to be a wonderful addition to the Simon & Schuster list." - Jane Griffiths, Fiction Editor, Simon & Schuster.

 * Please note: These covers may not be  final and may be subject to change. 

Additional info & quotes: 

booktrade.info,