A.F. Harrold – författare

An extraordinary tale of love, loss, imagination and not really being there. 'A delight from start to finish' Financial TimesAs seen on Netflix Rudger is Amanda’s best friend. He doesn't exist, but nobody's perfect. Only Amanda can see her imaginary friend – until the sinister Mr Bunting arrives at Amanda's door. Mr Bunting hunts imaginaries. Rumour says that he eats them. And he's sniffed out Rudger. Soon Rudger is alone, and running for his imaginary life. But can a boy who isn’t there survive without a friend to dream him up?A brilliantly funny, scary and moving read from the unique imagination of A.F. Harrold, this beautiful book is astoundingly illustrated with integrated art and colour spreads by the award-winning Emily Gravett.

Nobody knew it at that moment, but only three things stood in the way of the complete destruction of the Earth: one elderly parrot; one eight-year-old spelling mistake; and an intrepid young schoolgirl-turned-reporter in search of a story ... Greta Zargo needs a big scoop if she’s going to win the Prilchard-Spritzer Medal, the quite famous award for great reporting. But big scoops are in short supply in the quiet little town of Upper Lowerbridge, and all Greta’s got to investigate is a couple of missing cakes. But then, with a whoosh of unknown energy, a mysterious silver robot descends from the sky ...A laugh-out-loud funny new series from the author of the critically acclaimed The Imaginary, perfect for fans of Mr Gum, Chris Riddell, and Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre’s Oliver and the Seawigs

Greta Zargo doesn’t know it, but once again she is about to unwittingly and unknowingly save the world …Intrepid young schoolgirl-turned-reporter Greta Zargo is always in search of a Big Scoop and for once there are plenty of strange goings-on in the usually quiet little town of Upper Lowerbridge. Not only has Aunt Tabitha, the great inventor, gone missing, but weird, wobbling, blob-like monsters are appearing via a very deep hole in Greta’s garden – and they are slowing but surely devouring her neighbours one by one …A laugh-out-loud funny new series from the author of the critically acclaimed The Imaginary, perfect for fans of Mr Gum, Chris Riddell, and Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre’s Oliver and the Seawigs

Winner of the Amnesty CILIP Honour for Illustration 2018Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway MedalLonglisted for the CILIP Carnegie MedalFrank doesn’t know how to feel when Nick Underbridge rescues her from bullies one afternoon. No one likes Nick. He’s big, he’s weird and he smells – or so everyone in Frank’s class thinks.And yet, there’s something nice about Nick’s house. There’s strange music playing there, and it feels light and good and makes Frank feel happy for the first time in forever.But there’s more to Nick, and to his house, than meets the eye, and soon Frank realises she isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Or the only one who needs help …A poignant, darkly comic and deeply moving story about the power of the extraordinary, and finding friendship where you least expect it. Written by the author of the critically acclaimed The Imaginary and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Levi Pinfold, this is perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman.

Fact: Ember and Ness are best friends. There’s nothing more to say about it. It is what it is. It is what will always be. Ember and Ness.Then Ness dies. It is sudden and unexpected and leaves Ember completely empty. How can this be?When Ember finds a way into the Afterworld, she determines to bring Ness back. Because that’s what friends do isn’t it? They rescue each other. They help. They never give up. Ember and Ness. That don’t change.A powerful, poignant, darkly comic and deeply moving story about friendship at its most extraordinary.

The perfect Christmas gift for any food or poetry lover, this scrumptious illustrated hardback contains over 50 poems about every type of food imaginable. Food is the one thing that unites us all – across time, nations and peoples. From chocolate, rice pudding and sandwiches to breakfast in bed, marmalade in the bath and the fruit of a mythical jelabi tree, in Midnight Feasts A.F. Harrold brings together a wonderful and diverse collection of poems to tickle your taste buds. Poets include Ian McMillan, Brian Patten, Choman Hardi, Imtiaz Dharker, William Carlos Williams, Salena Godden, Joseph Coelho, Sabrina Mahfouz, Lewis Carroll, W.S. Gilbert and A.E. Housman, as well as A.F. Harrold himself. This stunning poetry book is beautifully illustrated in full colour by rising star Katy Riddell (daughter of former Children's Laureate, Chris Riddell) and is the perfect present – at Christmas or any other time year. It will have the poetry and food fans in your life licking their lips!

Perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Roald Dahl, this highly successful and widely praised series featuring a boy, a circus and a lot of silliness is now available in a bright new package.‘Freewheeling frivolity’ – Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’ Fizzlebert Stump lives in a travelling circus. But although he gets to hang around with acrobats, play the fool with clowns, and put his head in a lion's mouth every night, he's the only kid there – and he's bored. But then Fizz decides to join a library, and life suddenly gets a lot more exciting when he is kidnapped by a pair of crazed pensioners! Will he ever see the circus again?A story of a boy, a book, some very bad people, some very brave deeds, and the importance of rubber teeth for lions.

Perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Roald Dahl, this highly successful and widely praised series featuring a boy, a circus and a lot of silliness is now available in a bright new package.‘Freewheeling frivolity’ – Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’ Fizzlebert Stump lives in a circus where the bearded Barboozul family are the new stars. Their act is full of magic, mystery, fear and fun. And it's nice to have another boy around, even if he is a bit … hairy round the chin. But then things start going wrong. The lion loses his dentures. The clowns lose their noses. The Ringmaster loses his temper. And the circus is about to lose its licence. Is the bearded boy to blame? Can Fizz save the day?The story of a boy, some beards, a sinister plot, clowns in crisis, and a very poorly rabbit.

‘Freewheeling frivolity’ – Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’ Fizzlebert Stump lives in a circus. His mum's a clown, his best friend is a bearded boy, and he sticks his head in a lion's mouth every night. Other than that, he's pretty normal. When Fish the sea lion goes missing Fizzlebert tracks down the runaway beast to an Aquarium, which has problems of its own. Fish (not Fish the sea lion, fish. Keep up.) are going missing, and the Admiral blames the circus. Can Fizzlebert solve the mystery, avoid an over-enthusiastic crocodile, and find his friend?The story of a boy, a lion, a sea lion, fish (but fewer than there used to be), a possible pirate, a temperamental cook and a very surprising octopus.

Perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Roald Dahl, this highly successful and widely praised series featuring a boy, a circus and a lot of silliness is now available in a bright new package.‘Freewheeling frivolity’ – Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’ Fizzlebert Stump lives in a circus and it's the great Circus of Circuses competition, but Fizzlebert Stump has no act. He's no longer the Boy Who Puts His Head In The Lion's Mouth (the lion retired) and putting his head in a crocodile's mouth instead didn't work out for some reason. Can Fizz find a new act in time? A story of circus rivalry, learning who you really are, and the problem of oddly shaped vegetables. Brilliantly bonkers and perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Lemony Snicket.

Perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Roald Dahl, this highly successful and widely praised series featuring a boy, a circus and a lot of silliness is now available in a bright new package.‘Freewheeling frivolity’ - Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’Going to school isn't very exciting, is it? Well for Fizzlebert Stump it's a whole new adventure because he lives in a circus. He is usually found training to be a strongman, or being taught history by a magician, or playing football with a sea lion, but not today. After being lost in the woods and mistaken for a very rude girl, here he is, at the back of the class confusing the teacher. Will anyone believe Fizz is telling the truth? Can he find his way back to the circus? Or will he be forced to sit up straight and pay attention forever?

Perfect for fans of Mr Gum and Roald Dahl, this highly successful and widely praised series featuring a boy, a circus and a lot of silliness is now available in a bright new package.‘Freewheeling frivolity’ - Financial Times‘Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.’Fizzlebert Stump lives in a circus. But when the ringmaster sells Fizz’s circus to the mysterious Mr Pinkbottle, disaster strikes! All the acts who aren't fired are forced to work in his supermarket. Not an easy task at all if your only skill is plate-spinning or being a trapeze artist, or indeed a sea lion! Will the ex-circus performers adjust to their new lives as shop assistants, or will Fizz find a way to save them all?

A riotous celebration of words and a modern take on cautionary tales – featuring advice on parrots, gravy, mathematics, castles (bouncy), spiders, vegetables (various), breakfast, cakes, and removing ducks from soup.Advice comes in many shapes. Poems come in many shapes. And so, it follows, poems of advice come in many shapes too. Sometimes they look you in the eye and say, ‘Do this! Don’t do that!’ Sometimes they sidle up beside you and whisper, ‘Have you ever thought about … ?’Not everything in this book is necessarily good advice, and not all of it is sensible advice. (But if you take the bad or un-sensible advice and don’t follow it, then it may become useful advice in its own way.)Filled with colour illustrations and packed with silly rhymes, witty wordplay and thought-provoking story poems, this collection will delight children of all ages.

Now available in paperback – an extraordinary story about friendship and betrayal, revenge and retribution, but also redemption. Ideal for 11+ readers who enjoy Stranger Things. Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration in 2023.'Luxuriantly illustrated by the fabulous Levi Pinfold. This exceptional book about friendship and paths not taken should rake in awards.' ObserverHex never meant for the girl to follow him and his best friend Tommo into the woods. He certainly never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When he gets blamed for the accident, Hex runs deep into the woods, ending up in a strange clearing that he has never come across before. There he meets an old woman who offers him a deal. She’ll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn’t know is someone else has been offered the same deal.When Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world, with only the vaguest memories of the world before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he even find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?This is a gripping and surreal contemporary fairytale that fans of David Almond will love.

An extraordinary story about friendship and betrayal. Of revenge and retribution but also redemption. Perfect for 11+ readers who enjoy Stranger Things. Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration in 2023.Hex never meant for the girl to follow him and his friend Tommo into the woods. He never meant for her to fall off the rope swing and break her arm. When the finger of blame is pointed at him, Hex runs deep into the woods and his fierce sense of injustice leads him to a strange clearing in the woods – a clearing that has never been there before – where an old lady in a cottage offers him a deal. She’ll rid the world of those who wronged him and Hex can carry on his life with them all forgotten and as if nothing ever happened. But what Hex doesn’t know is someone else has been offered the same deal.When Hex’s best friend Tommo wakes up the next day, he is in a completely different world but he only has murmurs of memories of the world before. Moments of deja vu that feel like Tommo’s lived this day before. Can Tommo put the world right again? Back to how it was? Or can he find a way to make a new world that could be better for them all?

PRAISE FOR MIDNIGHT FEASTS'A gorgeous anthology of poems about food, this is funny, mouth-watering and moving, with delectable coloured illustrations to accompany the deliciousness' The Metro'This moreish anthology – a menu of poetic snacks – is illustrated with beguiling, gentle humour' The ObserverPocket Book of Pocket Poems is a hilarious pocket-sized collection of short poems which you’ll want to keep close, from Carnegie-nominated poet A.F. Harrold, author of Midnight Feasts. Perfect for readers aged 8+.Written in A.F. Harrold’s fun and accessible style, these silly poems will get young readers smiling, whether they like poetry or not! With poems about everything from shenanigans at school, to what would happen if hens laid coconuts, Pocket Book of Pocket Poems and its hilarious illustrations will keep you giggling. From the Carnegie-nominated author of The Imaginary and The Worlds We Leave Behind, this collection of short and sweet poems, which are all 60 words and under, is the perfect book to carry with you anywhere.

A.F. Harrold's collection is a sequence detailing the illness and death of his mother, but its tone is anything but elegiac. Addressed to the patient, both present and absent, the poems are frank, unflinching and honest. There is love here, but also frustration, bewilderment, confusion and grief. Together the poems explore the spaces where despair, boredom and exhaustion meet, and at their heart describe the difficulty of dying.

Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard is a collection of poems that have been shouted at children from schools to church halls. They are a curation of silly tales that have been illustrated and bound into a book. Perhaps you’ll want to annoy your family by reading them out; perhaps you’ll want to chuckle at them under the covers with a torch; perhaps you’ll want to stare at the drawings drawn by Mr Chris Riddell or maybe you’ll want to shout them aloud to capture the spirit of A.F. Harrold himself.

Wild Town is a place…“where nothing’s locked inside a cagewhere danger leaps from off the pagewhere wild is a fact of lifeand words are sharpened like a knife” Do you dare to come to Wild Town?  You’ll find zebras dancing in Herbivoreville, or if you feel like a change, book into the Chrysalis Hotel in Fluttertown – no room service. Watch out for the tigers of Bengal Street in the Carnivore Quarter and maybe avoid the fish tank in number 3, Danger Close - it’s stocked with piranhas and electric eels. In Wolf Park you may come across a silent, stalking wolf and at the Wild Town Rec polar bears are pushing on the slide and orcas are in the paddling pool. While at the quiet end of town dormice are sleeping and grumpy Bertha the Bear is slumbering.One thing is certain – you will never be the same after a visit to Wild Town, and when you leave, the wild will go with you….An exciting poetry adventure, a journey of wild encounters in streets, houses and parks - this is an astonishing and brilliant poetry collection by two of the UK’s most admired poets. Illustrated with verve and wit by the internationally bestselling illustrator Korky Paul.

A story of love and imagination, of metaphysics and politics, of empathy and mystery, it’s curious and compelling. Alice in Wonderland meets Kurt Vonnegut in a tale of surreal teenage turmoil.Shouldn’t she be in her body?Shouldn’t she be her body?That was the first clue she had that something had gone sideways.Thorn wakes up one morning hovering over her own body. Watching herself go about her days from a distance, she bounces around her past, present and future, gradually putting together the pieces of her life. Through love and resistance, Thorn is faced with how she sees herself, and must figure out if the things that mattered before are what are really important.Cover illustration by Simon Pemberton, interior illustration by Milly Chapple.