Brogen Murphy – författare

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book PrizeThe Financial Times calls it "one of the best titles of the year so far"*WINNER of the Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction 2025A UTOPIAN FUTURE.A FORBIDDEN WILDERNESS.TWO KIDS TRYING TO SURVIVE.Twenty-five years into the future, no humans are allowed in the Wildlands – a vast area in Britain where wolves, lynx and bison roam free. The only exception is a high-speed train line between London and Glasgow that crosses right through the heart of the project. Thirteen-year-old Astrid and her little sister, Indie, are onboard when their train slows to a brief, unexpected stop … and they find themselves accidentally left behind. Stranded in this place of astonishing natural wonders and terrible dangers, they have only a rucksack, a phone without signal – and each other. As every wrong turn takes them deeper into the Wildlands, do they have the ingenuity and determination to survive?How far would YOU go to find your way home?Perfect for fans of THE EXPLORER and THE LAST WILD, this riveting and emotional story takes place in an imagined future teeming with lost flora and fauna that we can only dream about encountering today. Winner of the Shropshire Bookfest Book Award 2026Shortlisted for the Peters Children's Book of the Year 2026Shortlisted for the Redbridge Book Award 2026*"Best Summer Books of 2025", 21 June 2025, Financial Times

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book PrizeThe Financial Times calls it "one of the best titles of the year so far"*WINNER of the Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction 2025A UTOPIAN FUTURE.A FORBIDDEN WILDERNESS.TWO KIDS TRYING TO SURVIVE.Twenty-five years into the future, no humans are allowed in the Wildlands – a vast area in Britain where wolves, lynx and bison roam free. The only exception is a high-speed train line between London and Glasgow that crosses right through the heart of the project. Thirteen-year-old Astrid and her little sister, Indie, are onboard when their train slows to a brief, unexpected stop … and they find themselves accidentally left behind. Stranded in this place of astonishing natural wonders and terrible dangers, they have only a rucksack, a phone without signal – and each other. As every wrong turn takes them deeper into the Wildlands, do they have the ingenuity and determination to survive?How far would YOU go to find your way home?Perfect for fans of THE EXPLORER and THE LAST WILD, this riveting and emotional story takes place in an imagined future teeming with lost flora and fauna that we can only dream about encountering today. Winner of the Shropshire Bookfest Book Award 2026Shortlisted for the Peters Children's Book of the Year 2026Shortlisted for the Redbridge Book Award 2026*"Best Summer Books of 2025", 21 June 2025, Financial Times

Award-winning author Brogen Murphy tells a new story of bravery, friendship and hope in a near-future, rewilded Britain.Finn lives in the Buffer Zone on the edge of the Wildlands, surrounded by a vast, rewilded landscape filled with boar, bison and beavers. But his quiet life is up-ended when his father takes in an orphaned bear cub – a secret that could cost them everything.After being rescued from the Wildlands, Astrid is doing everything she can to expose the poaching operation that threatens this protected sanctuary – but no one is listening.When Finn’s bear grows too big to hide, and Astrid’s Mum hatches a daring plan to get proof of the poachers, both children set off on parallel journeys – over land, sea and sky.But winter is closing in, and a terrible storm is brewing . . .Stranded in the heart of the Wildlands – with secrets between them and danger far closer than they realise – can they learn to trust each other to save what they both love most?This series is perfect for 8-12 year olds and fans of The Explorer and The Last Wild. Wildlands was the winner of the Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction 2025.