eatryce

The

Prophecy

Two-time Newbery Medalist Two-time Caldecott Medalist

KATE DiCAMILLO SOPHIE BLACKALL
Illustration copyright © 2021 by Sophie Blackall
 PRESS RELEASE

The Beatryce Prophecy

Highly Anticipated Middle-Grade Novel Releasing September 28, 2021

Candlewick Press is pleased to share the upcoming publication of a stand-alone

fantasy novel, The Beatryce Prophecy, by two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo
and two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, the first collaboration between the
two masters. With timeless themes, an unforgettable cast, and a magical medieval
setting, DiCamillo’s lyrical text paired with Blackall’s resonant black-and-white
illustrations is a luminous tale of fate, love, and the power of words.

In The Beatryce Prophecy, as in all her books, DiCamillo gives readers the gift of fully
realized, unforgettable characters—not least of which is Answelica the goat, whose
fierceness and devotion are unparalleled. Candlewick executive editor Andrea Tompa
said, “The book is a page-turning, heart-tugging read, and it will leave readers inspired
to think about how we might reimagine our own world for the better.” Candlewick’s
creative director at-large Chris Paul added, “Inspired by Kate’s wonderful story, the
characters, and setting, Sophie has worked her magic bringing the unique cast of
characters to life through her luminous art.”

The Beatryce Prophecy will be supported by a coordinated

international marketing campaign and global laydown
in September 2021, following back-to-back feature film
adaptations of DiCamillo’s previous award-winning novels
The Tiger Rising and Flora & Ulysses.

On sale September 28, 2021

HC: 978-1- 5362-1361-4
$19.99 ($25.99 CAN)
Also available as an e-book
Ages 8–-12 • 256 pages
#beatryceprophecy
 ABOUT KATE DiCAMILLO

KATE DiCAMILLO’s writing journey has been a truly remarkable one.

She grew up in Florida and moved to Minnesota in her twenties, when
homesickness and a bitter winter led her to write Because of Winn-Dixie, her
first published novel, which became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a
Newbery Honor. The Tiger Rising, her second novel, was also set in Florida
and went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the
best-selling author has explored settings as varied as a medieval castle and
a magician’s theater while continuing to enjoy great success, winning two
Newbery Medals and being named National Ambassador for Young People’s
Literature. She now has almost 37 million books in print worldwide.
Kate DiCamillo’s books’ themes of hope and belief amid impossible
circumstances and their messages of shared humanity and connectedness
have resonated with readers of all ages around the world. In her instant
#1 New York Times bestseller The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a
haughty china rabbit undergoes a profound transformation after finding
himself facedown on the ocean floor, lost and waiting to be found. The
Tale of Despereaux, the Newbery Medal–winning novel that later inspired
an animated adventure from Universal Pictures, stars a tiny mouse with
exceptionally large ears who is driven by love to become an unlikely hero. The
Magician’s Elephant, an acclaimed and exquisitely paced fable, dares to ask
the question What if? And Kate DiCamillo’s second Newbery Medal winner,
Flora & Ulysses, was released in 2013 to great acclaim, garnering five starred
reviews and an instant spot on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2021,
it was released as an original movie on Disney+. Her most recent trilogy of
novels, starring three best friends in the world of Raymie Nightingale, all
achieved national bestseller list status and are positioned to become coming-
of-age classics for decades to come.
Born in Philadelphia but raised in the South, Kate DiCamillo now lives
in Minneapolis.
Photo copyright © 2018 by Catherine Smith Photography. Illustration copyright © 2021 by Sophie Blackall
 A NOTE FROM
THE AUTHOR
I have carried the story of Beatryce around with me for more than
a decade now. It is a story that I started in 2009 and worked on for
a very short time, then put aside and forgot about. In 2018, I was
cleaning out my office closet and found the draft of the first part of
a story about a girl named Beatryce, a girl who could read and write
in a world where this was against the law. I sat on the floor of my
office and read through the story as if I had never seen it before, as
if I had not written it. I started working on writing the rest of the
book a few days after I discovered those first pages. I had no idea
what would happen, how the story would end, what would become
of the girl (and the goat and the monk and the boy who befriends
her). All I knew was that I had found a story and characters that
mattered to me.
What I realized after I was done writing (and rewriting and
rewriting and editing and copyediting) is that I have been carrying
this story with me for longer than a decade. I’ve been carrying it
for my whole life, ever since I struggled to learn to read—and then
as I struggled to become more fully myself through the miracles of
words and stories and friendships.

Illustration copyright © 2021 by Sophie Blackall

 ABOUT SOPHIE BLACKALL

SOPHIE BLACKALL is a Brooklyn-based Australian illustrator of more

than forty-five books for children, including the New York Times best-selling
Ivy and Bean series; the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner, Finding Winnie; and
the 2019 Caldecott Medal winner, Hello Lighthouse, which she also wrote.
Her books have been selected for the New York Times/New York Public
Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book list four times.

Sophie Blackall has collaborated with UNICEF and Save the Children on
global health and literacy initiatives in Congo, India, Rwanda, and Bhutan.
In 2020 she was named a Global Icon at the Advance Awards, the first
woman to receive this honor.

In her spare time (ha!), she is in the process of turning an old dairy farm in
upstate New York—cowsheds, silos, and all—into a retreat for children’s
book writers, illustrators, editors, and librarians. It will be a place where
people can come together to write and draw, think and walk, and talk and
eat and drink.

Illustration copyright © 2021 by Sophie Blackall

 A NOTE FROM
THE ILLUSTRATOR
When I received the manuscript for The Beatryce Prophecy, I was about
to step out the door. Instead, I took off my coat and put down my bag,
switched off my phone and sat on the couch I never find time to sit on,
and read the story from beginning to end.
I felt such a rush of gratitude. Gratitude for all the images I would
get to draw. The mermaid, the wolf, the sea horse, the bee, the tree, the
meadow, and the moon.
Gratitude for Beatryce. For Answelica. (That goat! Those teeth!)
For Brother Edik and Cannoc and Jack Dory. For these characters who
had already become my lifelong friends, friends who will accompany
future readers through the wilds of childhood and beyond.
When I was ten, I had a goat. Her name was Josephine, and her
ears were like velvet. I had to give her away when we moved (we moved
a lot), but the Josephine year was a good one. Every girl should have a
goat. And every child should be lucky enough to have this book. If I had
read it back then, I feel certain Beatryce would have eclipsed all of my
beloved childhood books, even Five Children and It, even The Wind in
the Willows, maybe even Winnie-the-Pooh.
During this past year of turmoil and upheaval and uncertainty,
illustrating Beatryce has brought me solace, distraction, comfort, and joy.
There are times I look back and don’t quite remember making the lines.
As though the images just arrived on the page. As though they’ve always
existed.
I feel a surge of happiness thinking of the readers of all ages who
will soon know this girl and her goat, the boy and the monk and the man
who was once a king. That they will step into the world of The Beatryce
Prophecy and find companions who seem to have always existed. And
that they will share the deep sense of belonging.
“We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in
the end, find our way home.”

Illustration copyright © 2021 by Sophie Blackall