Press Release Your Luck | Ravenstone Rising

News of a new challenger just hit my inbox, and considering the source, I thought you all might like to know a modicum more.

Ravenstone is "a brand new children's imprint" poised to join Solaris' genre fiction and Abaddon's pulp under the Rebellion umbrella next summer. But the press release says it better:

Rebellion Publishing is proud to announce the launch of its new line of Children’s and Young Adult fiction – Ravenstone.

Showcasing the very best in literature for the young, Ravenstone will publish one book a season. It will exist to highlight works of genre-busting adventure, and incisive and challenging writing.

Ravenstone’s titles will be published in hardback, paperback and e-book formats in the US and the UK, allowing new generations of readers the chance to explore new worlds and new horizons. They will be distributed by Simon and Schuster.

Editor-in-chief Jonathan Oliver said: “The Young Adult market is a vibrant and exciting melting pot of genres and ideas and I’m delighted to lead us into this territory with our new imprint.”

So far, so standard - this must be as inevitable a move as it is exciting - but alongside the above, Ravenstone announced their debut book: Johnny Cash's kid, John Carter Cash has had three children's stories and a biography published before now, but the new imprint insists Lupus Rex is his first novel proper. Here's a bit about it:

The imprint’s launch title will be the beautiful debut novel Lupus Rex, by the high-profile musician and writer John Carter Cash. To be published in June 2013, Lupus Rex will have enormous appeal to children and older readers alike. This astonishing new tale is in the tradition of Watership Down, The Rats of Nimh, the Redwall series and Duncton Wood.

Isyl and Cormo are two quail who must risk their lives when they are driven from their home by the crows when the Murder fractures over the decision of who shall rule the Tree. The disorder this brings to the region comes to the attention of the wolf Asmod and he sees an opportunity to make himself King. To restore order the quails must venture far from their home to seek an audience with a potentially dangerous ally, the hawk Pitrin. As the forest trembles with the approach of Asmod’s army, the two quail will find themselves entangled in an epic struggle, as they fight to bring peace to the Field.

This is a major release from a debut imprint and Cash shows himself to be a beautiful writer in his first novel. With a stylish and classic cover by Wicked series artist Douglas Smith, this tale of nature is full of strong characters and sets the bar very high for an emerging literary talent.

I don't know what it is about this blurb - no, scratch that: it's probably the nods to Redwall and Watership Down, which I loved as a little - but I'll be reading Lupus Rex as soon as ARCs are made available. You?

And I hope you'll join me in giving Ravenstone a warm welcome to the world. If it's all it appears to be - and with Jonathan Oliver at the helm, whose Magic anthology I'm adoring at the moment, I have hope - we could be in for an exceedingly exciting time.