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Norm Feuti's Beak & Ally Graphic Novels Coming From HarperAlley

Published Fri, 04 Sep 2020 10:25:26 -0500

Last updated Sat, 30 Jan 2021 17:30:59 -0600

The Beak & Ally graphic novel series by Norm Feuti, tells the story of an outgoing bird determined to befriend a reluctant alligator. The four-book series has been bought at auction by Andrew Arnold at HarperAlley, with publication to begin in the winter of 2021. Feuiti's agent Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.

Beak & Ally is a brand-new early reader graphic novel series about finding friendship in unexpected places. This fun and funny buddy comedy is perfect for fans of Narwhal & Jelly, emerging readers, and all kids who love comics. Ally the alligator is perfectly happy being alone . . . until one day a noisy bird named Beak lands on her snout. Much to Ally's annoyance, this chatty bird likes to sing all the time and has chosen a nearby tree to build his new nest. Even worse, he insists that he and Ally should be best friends. In fact, he has all kinds of friendship goals in mind, and it seems nothing Ally says will convince him that she'd rather just be alone. Nothing beats peace and quiet . . . except for maybe a new best friend?

Norm Feuti is a cartoonist, author, and freelance illustrator living in Massachusetts. His former syndicated comic strip, Retail, presented a humorous look at the retail industry by chronicling the daily events at the fictitious Grumbel's department store. Drawing from his 15 years of experience working in retail management, the humour of Retail played out through the day-to-day trials and triumphs of four main Grumbel's department store employees (Marla, Cooper, Val, and Stuart) and the customers they encounter. Retail was distributed in newspapers worldwide by King Features. Norm's current comic strip Gil is a look at life through the eyes of a young boy growing up under circumstances familiar to millions of American families. Gil appears every Sunday in The Providence Journal.

HarperAlley is a graphic novel imprint launched from HarperCollins Children's Books under the direction of former art director and acquiring editor at First Second, Andrew Arnold last year, described as a "collaborative, creator-focused publisher" that will specialize in graphic novels for "readers of all ages." The new line is "looking to publish books that readers of all ages can enjoy, from the youngest readers to teens and adults. We believe that a good story is a story that any reader can relate to. That's what we mean when we say "readers of all ages." HarperAlley is looking to publish about ten books a season, or about thirty books a year and is one of a number of mainstream book publishers that has been rapidly increasing the number of graphic novels for younger readers. And Norm Feuti has given them another two.

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