Larrikin acquires Vee picture book

Larrikin House has acquired world rights to My Spinning Anxious Brain, a picture book by Dani Vee, illustrated by Ruth-Mary Smith.

‘Empathetic, gentle and fun’, My Spinning Anxious Brain ‘explains exactly what it feels like to experience anxiety and [includes] strategies on how kids and parents can manage anxiety in children,’ said the publisher. 

Vee is a publisher at Larrikin House. Among her previous books are My Supercharged ADHD Brain (with James Layton) and My Pet Croc (both also published by Larrikin). Vee also hosts literary podcast Words and Nerds, which has been downloaded more than 1 million times.

Writing on the new title, Vee described anxiety as ‘a subject close to my heart, having experienced anxiety my entire life’. ‘It was important for me to focus on not only the challenges and how [anxiety] feels, but [also on] how courageous and resilient you have to be to face the world with anxiety. And of course, there’s a bit of fun!’

Larrikin House publisher James Layton said, ‘We wanted to capture how challenging anxiety can be, while normalising it and helping kids understand what it feels like to be anxious and what they can do to feel better.’

My Spinning Anxious Brain is scheduled for release in April 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions