Perlman to release first book for children

Elliot Perlman has written a debut children’s book, The Adventures of Catvinkle, which will be published by Random House Children’s Books in Australia in October 2018.

The book centres on the unlikely friendship between pampered house cat Catvinkle and Ula the stray dalmatian.

Perlman, who was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his literary novels Three Dollars (Vintage) and Seven Types of Ambiguity (Penguin), said he was inspired to write The Adventures of Catvinkle after encountering a cat sleeping lazily in a bay window in Amsterdam.

‘This triggered the thought of a blissed-out, slightly selfish cat having its world turned upside down by the unexpected arrival of an animal long totally reviled by cats, namely a dog,’ said Perlman. ‘But then I wondered, what if the dog was so lovely and sweet, innocent and friendly that the cat couldn’t help itself but fall head-over-heels for the dog.’

Australian and New Zealand rights were acquired by Zoe Walton, Random House Young Readers publisher, who said the book is ‘nothing like what you might expect’. ‘Yet [it] exudes everything you love about Elliot’s writing—including a gentle treatment of themes of social inclusion, anti-racism and anti-bullying, all of it dripping with humour and warmth.’

Illustrated by Laura Stitzel and published in hardcover, the book will be released in Australia in October 2018.

Category: Junior Local news Rights and acquisitions