Author lands six-figure Penguin deal for Northumberland-inspired novel The Monsters at the End of the World
A children’s author has landed a six-figure book deal with Penguin for her new novel inspired by Northumberland landscapes.
Rebecca Orwin, who grew up in Chesterfield, first visited Northumberland on a primary school trip – an experience she says had a lasting impact on her.
She then went on to study creative writing at Newcastle University, living in the North East for 12 years and getting married in Alnwick.
Rebecca’s book, The Monsters at the End of the World, now uses dramatic Northumberland landscapes to illustrate the post-apocalyptic world it is set in, taking inspiration from Seahouses, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh Castle.
She said: “When I was around nine, I really started finding books that I loved and coincidentally around then was the first time I ever went to Northumberland. I absolutely loved it, I remember it so vividly.”
"The pivotal first scene of the book is set in sand dunes, inspired by the Northumberland beaches where we used to play games every evening on our school trip.”
The book follows the tale of a world ravaged by environmental disasters and the unlikely friendship between a young girl and a monster her community fears.
The story explores themes of empathy and how kindness and understanding between different groups can unlock conflict.
Rebecca added: “At that age I think things really start to have an impact on you which is why I like writing for that group. The things that lodge themselves into your head, you remember forever.”
This book deal is something Rebecca has dreamed of for a long time, submitting her first novel at 15-years-old and going on to write five that were never published.
“It was incredibly surreal," she revealed. “You spend so many years imagining what that will feel like and I almost feel like I didn't feel it at all because I was so shell shocked.
“It can be really hard to get your foot in the door as a writer in the north. When I was a kid you read so many books that are based in, or versions of, London so I think it’s so exciting for regional kids to read about somewhere they are familiar with.”
The Monsters at the End of the World will be released on January 8, and Rebecca is currently working on a sequel.