Zilombo

S.P. Gates was born in Grimsby, England. Her dad is a musician and her mum was a tailor. Before she became a full-time writer she lived and worked in Malawi, Africa, then taught in schools in Coventry and County Durham in England. 
 
She has written more than 100 books for children. Many of which have won prizes, including twice overall winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award, commended for the Carnegie Medal and Highly Commended for the Nasen Special Educational Needs Award. She's diversified a lot in children's writing (she likes a new challenge) and has written plays, poems, picture books, books for reluctant readers, novels for teenagers, comedy, thrillers, comedy/thrillers, historical novels - and even once a series of books about grammar for schools. 
 
If she hadn't been a writer, she'd like to have been a professional guitarist like her father, who is still gigging at 88 years old!

Something strange is going on by the slimy river Oozeburn. But Jin is the only one who knows. The ancient predator Zilombo is loose and has snatched Jin's baby brother. When Mizz Z, a secret agent, arrives to investigate, the race is on to save him. But the beast's mysterious powers are evolving. She's getting stronger. As Jin, his sister Frankie and Mizz Z make their plans, Zilombo grows hungrier...

The Curse of the Crocodile King

An ancient predator is loose - again! The follow-up story to Zilombo by acclaimed author, Susan Gates.

No-one the Croc King curses ever escapes Avenger . . . Avenger never gives up. It always tracks you down. 
 
Frankie Sparks and her brother Jin are going about their lives as normal, when Mizz Z, the formidable secret agent, arrives in town on a mission. She's on the hunt for some ancient relics, relics that everybody thinks have lost their powers completely. Everybody is wrong . . . 
 
The spirit of the tyrant Crocodile King has been lurking for years, waiting for his chance to return and release Avenger, his killing-machine tracker, once more . . . 
 
Frankie and Jin find themselves caught up in a centuries-old curse. Can they help Mizz Z to break it, or will the evil Avenger claim another victim . . . ?

The Three Heads in the Well: A Magic Beans Story

A short story from the Magic Beans series, in which a fair maiden encounters mysterious magic . . .

Susan Gates was born in Grimsby, England. Before she became a full-time writer she lived and worked in Malawi, Africa, then taught in schools in Coventry and County Durham in England. She has written more than 100 books for children, many of which have won prizes. She has been overall winner of the Sheffield Children's Book Award twice, commended for the Carnegie Medal, and Highly Commended for the Nasen Special Educational Needs Award.

When the King remarries, his beautiful daughter is forced to leave his castle by her mean-spirited stepfamily. Laden only with bread, cheese and kindness, the Princess seeks her fortune and finds three friendly heads in a well. When the stepsister follows, however, it is clear that the three heads may be either friend or foe . . . 
 
This story is a magic bean. It may not look much like a bean, but I can promise you that it is. For if you plant it in a young mind, it will grow into a love of story and reading. These beans are favourite fairytales and legends that will delight, thrill and thoroughly entertain. Each story has been brilliantly crafted by one of the best-loved writers for children. 
 
This story was published by David Fickling Books as part of the Magic Beans anthology. The complete anthology is available in hardback and in ebook format.

Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairytales from the Storybag

Beautiful retellings of favourite fairytales by the best-loved writers for children.

An entrancing collection of classic fairtyales retold by leading storytellers such as Philip Pullman, Adele Geras, and Malorie Blackman. Elegant line drawings add to the magic

A wonderfully entertaining sampler of 14 great storytellers, who include Anne Fine, Phillip Pullman and Jacqueline Wilson. It's rich retellings range from Aesops Fables to the Little Mermaid

With wonderfully told stories by brilliant writers including Alan Garner, Linda Newbery, Anne Fine, Gillian Cross, Berlie Doherty and Philip Pullman, parents will love it every bit as much as their kids

If you don't have a collection, then Magic Beans: A Handful of Fairytales from the Storybag is as good a place to start as any . . . Even bought as a reference guide to fantastic writers for your kids to explore, it'll be money well spent

With comfortable print and decorative embellishments by well-known illustrators, this rich kaleidoscope of stories is a book for keeps

Much nicer and more accessible than a traditional keepsake edition, this anthology will actually be read and enjoyed rather than resting on the shelf. The whole clutch of stories is beautifully, clearly written, and adults will relish reading them aloud to children

Brims with elegant prose, enchantment, comedy and mischief . . . It's the perfect gift but also a book to squirrel away for yourself and enjoy on a rainy afternoon

Smartly written, the tales can be enjoyed afresh, imbued with a love of words that will no doubt excite and delight your child. The new hardback collection is printed in large type so should be a good first read. It would also make a lovely gift

Each of the stories in this anthology is a magic bean: a wondrous take that will capture your imagination. Lovingly crafted by some of the finest authors and illustrators in the business . . . these 'magic beans' will delight and thoroughly entertain

All the stories give a fresh and immediate version of the often cruel but funny originals where the darkest sides of human nature are contrasted against innocent honesty; magic intervening first on one side, then the other, until virtue triumphs. Skilful writing from modern storytellers

A bright cover and good sized print are attractive but the irresistible factor is the list of 14 authors . . . Amazing, brilliant and a comparative bargain

Magic beans. Sow them. Plant them. Watch children grow. 
 
'If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!' - Shel Silverstein, Poet 
 
Each and every one of the stories in this anthology is a magic bean: a wondrous tale that will capture your imagination. Prepare to be dazzled by Rapunzel's golden tresses. Prepare to be moved by the suffering of the Little Mermaid. Prepare to laugh yourself silly as 'Mr Sultana' struggles to get the better of a little red rooster! 
 
Lovingly crafted by the finest authors and illustrators, these 'magic beans' will delight, thrill and thoroughly entertain.

The Spud from Outer Space

'A truly funny children's writer' - Independent

Susan Gates was born in Grimsby. As a child, she loved science fiction and detective stories, and went on to study American literature at Warwick. She has been a teacher, including one in Malawi, Africa.In 1995, her teenage book, Raider, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal (pub OUP). She has twice won the Sheffield Award with books for younger readers published by Scholastic. She now lives in County Durham.

This is a potato with attitude! It's come from outer space and it's landed in the council rubbish tip. It's growing bigger by the minute and it's looking round for things to eat. Only Cruncher, his grandad and a potato-obsessed professor are around to stop it before it wipes out the human race. The bad news is that the crash has upset the rules of space and time and Silas Smite, the mad preacher, has been brought from the past to hunt down all potato lovers. The good news is that Grandad has a secret weapon: Gloria, the super bin van designed to collect space junk. It's chaos out there - expect anything!

Night of the Haunted Trousers

Susan Gates has written books for a very wide age range. RAIDER, a novel for older readers, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Fiction Award, and her younger novel, BEWARE THE KILLER COAT, won the Sheffield Children's Book Award. Susan lives in County Durham.

Liam's grandad is devastated when Mrs Porteous succeeds in her mission to close Nursery Rhyme Land, a museum full of stuffed animals displayed in nursery rhyme scenes. Not only that, but Liam has to contend with a pair of haunted trousers, which when combined with General Custer's false teeth, turn the wearer into  Rabbit, a sad orphan cat-catcher - and both Grandad and Mrs Porteous fall victim!  Stir in a fainting goat, stand back as the museum animals come to life and attack Grandad, and watch the fast and furious fun develop.  Surprisingly, all ends happily as Grandad and Mrs Porteous open the Fainting Goat Farm.

Revenge of the Toffee Monster

Susan Gates has written books for a very wide age range and is perhaps best-known for her Carnegie shortlisted title, RAIDER. Susan lives in County Durham.

Lennie finds old Miss Butterworth in the run-down toffee works and is told the dreadful story of Clum, the toffee monster created by old Mr Butterworth in Victorian times. Little does Lennie know that Clum is kept in the freezer until, through a series of mishaps, he finds himself confronted by the 7 foot rampaging toffee fiend. To escape, Lennie must don a lace dress and tam o'shanter and disguise himself as Clum's master, Young Harold. Clum, shining with sparkle bars, looks like a silver knight and walks with the disguised Lennie onto a building site. He is buried by a JCB.  Lennie is very sad, but cheers up when he becomes a helper in Miss Butterworth's toffee works.  But in the spring, Clum's hand wriggles through the ground ...

Robbie Arnott

Susan Gates

'Dusk is a sublime novel of loss and redemption, fight and surrender, that left me in absolute awe. Robbie Arnott's prose is incandescent, his storytelling mythic and filled with a wisdom that extends beyond the page. With Dusk, he asserts himself as one of Australia's finest literary writers'

'Starkly beautiful and deeply felt... Dusk is a book about love: not just the love between the twins but the love they feel for the landscape… the pared-back textures of Dusk’s prose… recall those of Cormac McCarthy'

'A Conrad-like storyteller whose tales always tremble on the edge of the mythic and legendary'

Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark

'One of Australia’s finest writers'

Sisonke Msimang, author of The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela

'Arnott has an eye and an ear for description that can elevate otherwise quiet moments to something genuinely transcendent'

Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley

'Everything [in Dusk]…is drawn vividly, not least the stunning, monumental landscape: a character in itself, it seems to nod to past crimes and extinctions… an absorbing adventure'

'Arnott… writes with tenderness about characters and passion about the lands through they move. A stunner'

Dusk is my book of the year so far – a story of loyalty, betrayal, desperation and the ties that bind, which culminates in one of the finest closing scenes I’ve ever read

An expertly paced quest narrative doubling as the tale of a community riven by suspicion

This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal, enriched by arresting depictions of nature

Shortlisted for the Climate Fiction Prize 
 
The story of outcast twins Iris and Floyd who join a hunt through the Tasmanian wilderness for a man-killing puma. But there is a threat closer to home . . . 
 
‘A sublime novel of loss and redemption’ Hannah Kent 
 
‘A propulsive novel of survival and betrayal’ The Economist 
 
In the Tasmanian highlands, a wild puma is on the loose. Dusk has escaped her captors and reports of killing sprees soon follow. 
 
Twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there's far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. 
 
And as they close in on their prey, they're forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal. 
 
'Starkly beautiful and deeply felt ... the pared-back textures of Dusk’s prose occasionally recall those of Cormac McCarthy' Guardian 
 
‘An expertly paced quest narrative doubling as the tale of a community riven by suspicion’ Mail on Sunday

Susan Gates

Books by Susan Gates

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