Christmas Press acquires Kelleher middle-grade
Christmas Press imprint Eagle Books has acquired world rights to Only the Wild, an upper middle-grade/YA novel by Victor Kelleher, via Margaret Connolly of Margaret Connolly and Associates.
Christmas Press publishing director Sophie Masson described the title as set in ‘a reimagined future Antarctica, or “Great Southland”, where a vicious war is raging between fiercely determined clans of small farmers and a ferocious band of eco-warriors called the Wilders, whose aim is to eradicate all human presence in the Great Southland and return it to wilderness’.
The novel follows Evan, the son of a farming family ‘who dreams of finding a middle way between the warring factions, an unpopular idea on both sides which will lead him into great danger,’ said the publisher. ‘After rescuing Emmy, a little girl who’s the sole survivor of an attack on a neighbouring family, he is confronted by a Wilder, a ruthless young woman named Reyne.’
Kelleher is an author and an educator. His works include the 1983 CBCA Book of the Year winner Master of the Grove (Puffin) and the 1985 Ditmar Best Australian Novel winner Beast of Heaven (UQP), as well as The Cave and The Lastling (both Christmas Press).
Said Masson of the acquisition, ‘Only the Wild is a brilliant mix of exciting adventure and thought-provoking themes, which raises many timely questions.’
Kelleher said his interest in the rewilding movement inspired him to write Only the Wild. ‘In particular, I was drawn in by the ongoing debates. Should a rewilded area exclude humans? Or include them?’
‘I set out to write a novel that embodied the very spirit of such disputes, imagining a future reforested Antarctica, completely free of ice, fought over by rival groups: farmers and the Wilders. And then there’s Evan, who sees this great southland as his home, as long as he is prepared to live in tune with nature. This three-part struggle, and its resolution, is at the heart of the novel.’
Christmas Press plans to publish Only the Wild in September 2026.
Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions
