New York, NY (March 14, 2008) -- Scholastic releases U.K. best-seller The Cry of the Icemark (ISBN: 0-439-68626-1; $18.95; Ages 12 and up), an epic adventure fantasy novel by debut author Stuart Hill. Movie rights have already been acquired by Fox 2000 Pictures prior to the highly-anticipated book’s U.S. release this month. International rights for the book have been sold to over 14 countries to date.
 
Stuart Hill is the latest discovery of publisher Barry Cunningham whose previous finds include Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and international best-selling author Cornelia Funke. Already a best-seller and media phenomenon in the United Kingdom, The Cry of the Icemark will be published in the U.S. under Scholastic’s Chicken House imprint.
 
The Cry of the Icemark is a magnificent tale about a mighty cause: the fight for a tiny kingdom led by a beautiful young princess who unites armies of animals and extraordinary creatures against an all-powerful invader. Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield is an intrepid warrior. She is thirteen years old and has been preparing for this moment her whole life. Now, she will look to advisors, forge alliances, and create a flawless battle plan. In the name of her father, for the sake of her people, Thirrin must defend the kingdom she loves…at all costs. The Cry of the Icemark is a story of duty and sacrifice, of unexpected laughter and terrible uncertainty, and of a young girl’s friendships forged in the heat of the battle.

A school dropout and former car upholsterer, Stuart Hill wrote The Cry of the Icemark each morning during snatched coffee breaks at a bookstore in Leicester, England, where he still works. Earning about 11,000 pounds a year as a bookshop assistant, Stuart first wrote the manuscript in longhand because he didn’t own a computer. He recently burned 26 rejection letters from publishers after he learned that Barry Cunningham wanted to publish his book.
 
Barry said of The Cry of the Icemark, “It took time to find a debut novel like this. Nowadays it’s too often about huge checkbooks and the size of the advance. You can’t chase real stars, they emerge slowly, filled with passion and commitment. Like Stuart Hill.”
 
The book and its debut author have garnered extensive media coverage, rave reviews and awards in the U.K. with The Times of London calling The Cry of the Icemark “an adventure on epic scale” and The Independent praising Stuart Hill as “tipped to be the next big thing in children’s fiction.” The Cry of the Icemark is the winner of the U.K.’s coveted Ottakars Prize for best new children’s novel.
 

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