Walker Books to publish middle-grade fiction book by Zoe Norton Lodge and sister Georgia

TV presenter and comedian Zoe Norton Lodge has teamed up with her sister Georgia, a graphic designer and illustrator, for a new middle-grade fiction title, Elizabella Meets Her Match, to be published by Walker Books in October.

Walker Books said it wants to ‘shake up the middle-grade market with 2018’s new heroine’ Elizabella, ‘who’s nine and one quarter, sassy, strong and sometimes a little bit cheeky’. ‘Elizabella means well, really she does, but it’s not easy when being naughty is just so much more fun than being good,’ the publisher said.

Walker Books publisher Linsay Knight said ‘Elizabella is the girl I always wanted to be, always needed to be, but never was’. ‘That’s why I’m delighted that, thanks to Zoe, there’s a new female character on the block; one who’s prepared to follow her heart wherever it might lead,’ said Knight. ‘A girl who stands tall among a jumble of male protagonists and clamours to be heard.’

Zoe Norton Lodge described Elizabella as ‘smart and ambitious, brave and cheeky and a pretty fabulous writer’. ‘Basically she’s everything I wanted to be when I was nine,’ Norton Lodge said. ‘But sometimes Elizabella experiences self-doubt and jealousy, and she certainly doesn’t always make the right choices. I am so excited to team up with the amazing team at Walker Books and my sister Georgia to bring my heroine to life.’

Category: Junior Local news Rights and acquisitions