Simon & Schuster Children’s Books have acquired a middle-grade prehistoric adventure series from academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts, author of the Sunday Times bestselling Ancestors: A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials (2021, Simon & Schuster).

Lucy Pearse, Fiction Editorial Director, bought World All Language rights from Luigi Bonomi at LBA in two titles for 9+ readers. The sweeping new series is inspired by the recent discovery that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived side by side in Western Europe.

Simon & Schuster Children’s will launch Book 1 in Summer 2023 with an unmissable hardback package and backed by an epic, super-lead marketing and publicity campaign.

Set against a deadly Ice Age backdrop, comes an epic adventure full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping survival. Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards of the harsh climate. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises he might hold the adventure she is looking for.

Lucy Pearse, Fiction Editorial Director, says: ‘Welcoming Professor Alice Roberts, a prized S&S author, to our children’s list is a thrilling moment for us. Her first fiction is the beautifully written tale of an unlikely friendship, spotlighting the personal stories that went on to impact all of human history. This epic, wild, and action-packed series is full fascinating and tangible detail, drawn from Alice’s own research, and it is a joy to see such expert knowledge coming alive on the page for adventuring readers.’

Professor Alice Roberts says: ‘I have spent a lot of time imagining what it must have been like to live as a hunter-gatherer. Archaeology allows us to see how societies worked: how people were close to the animals they hunted, migrating with them; how they created art as well as tools for survival. I’ve spent time with reindeer herders in the far north of Siberia too, and experiencing their way of life has given me insights into the challenges faced by our ancestors. I’ve wanted to write a novel for a long time and as I’m writing this, I’m reading it to my children, who want to know what happens next! I can’t wait for more readers to be able to immerse themselves in this story of adventure and friendship, set in the depths of the Ice Age.’

Alice Robert’s forthcoming adult title Buried: An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain publishes with Simon & Schuster on 26th May and will be supported by a major promotional campaign.

Professor Alice Roberts is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy and evolution, archaeology and history. In 2001, Alice made her television debut on Channel 4’s Time Team, and has presented more than a hundred television programmes including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants on BBC2, Britain’s Most Historic Towns on Channel 4 and Curse of the Ancients on Sky History. She is also the presenter of the enduringly popular BBC TV series Digging for Britain, now in its tenth season. Alice has been a Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012, where she teaches human anatomy to medical students as well as championing outreach. As well as authoring the Sunday Times bestselling Ancestors, she has also written several other popular science books including The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize in 2015.