Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: investigators, london book fair

John Patrick Green Donates Prize Win, Signs Seven New Graphic Novels

John Patrick Green donates Scholastic prize win and signs seven new graphic novels for InvestiGators and Agents Of SUIT

As London Book Fair kicks off, John Patrick Green, creator of the InvestiGators and Agents of S.U.I.T series of graphic novels for kids won the inaugural Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize last year, worth £1,000, with InvestiGator's All Tide Up as voted on by schoolkids. And, ahead of this year's London Book Fair, he has donated that prize to the UK Comics Laureate programme, saying "Reading comics as a kid got me excited about stories, and literature, and how books were made. It was the beginning of my journey to become a professional comics creator. When kids around the UK chose my InvestiGators graphic novel to receive the Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize, I wanted to use that to help those kids start on their own creative journeys. The UK Comics Laureate programme does amazing work to champion comics, and I'm honoured that my publisher and I can help with that mission." And his publisher's Pan Macmillan's Making a Difference fund matched Green's donation to the programme.

But neither of them will be too out of pocket. Macmillan Children's Books has signed a seven-book deal from John Patrick Green for his graphic novels, with Editorial director Cate Augustin acquiring UK and Commonwealth rights from Kristin Dulaney at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in the US. That will make a total of nineteen titles across the two related series, up to the end of 2028.

The InvestiGators series has also been republished with new looking covers, the release of Class Action, the eighth book in the series, with Wild Ghost Chase, book three in the Agents of S.U.I.T series out in April, with Green touring the UK including public events and multiple school events.

The UK Comics Laureate is an ambassadorial and educational role for the comics medium and aims to raise awareness of the impact comics can have in terms of increasing literacy and creativity. Previous UK Comics Laureates have been Dave Gibbons, Charlie Adlard, Hannah Berry, Stephen L. Holland and is currently held by Bobby Joseph.

Cate Augustin states "With its wacky humour, irresistible puns, super-sleuthing characters and commercial artwork, InvestiGators is a hit with children of all ages. John is so passionate about giving children the chance to discover the joy of comics and graphic novels, and we are so excited to be working with him to bring the series to even more young readers across the UK with our programme of year-round activity." Alison Ruane, managing director at Macmillan Children's Books, says "InvestiGators is a smash hit with children and it is a thrill to work with our US colleagues and see the sales and popularity grow across the world. As part of our ongoing commitment to the series and graphic-novel publishing, we are also pleased to support the UK Comics Laureate initiative."

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