Bath Spa lecturer publishing success

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Bath Spa University lecturer in publishing success

Bath Spa University lecturer Dr Alexia Casale is celebrating multiple publishing successes this year.

Alexia’s first two adult books have been pre-empted in a major deal by Viking, with rights to the US and four translation territories also being snapped up at auction. The first of these books, How To Bury Your Husband, will be released in early 2024.

Publisher Faber has announced a two book deal for Alexia’s next young adult (YA) novels – the first, Sing If You Can’t Dance, will be published in July 2023.

Additionally, Alexia’s first two books, House of Windows and The Bone Dragon, have recently been made available as audiobooks on Audible.

Alexia, who is Course Leader for MA Writing for Young People, is already well-established as a YA fiction writer. Her 2013 debut The Bone Dragon was nominated for several awards and named a Book of the Year by the Financial Times and Independent.

Speaking about her writing success, Alexia said:

"I’m so excited to be on the path to my dream of writing both YA and adult fiction – and with amazing editors and publishers on both sides. It’s an extra joy to be able to share the journey towards publication with my students to help scaffold their learning and understanding of what being a working author is really like.

"Being able to provide examples from my own work, knowing my students will soon be able to read the finished books, is so much fun and makes a huge difference to helping them see how theoretical discussions apply in practice to make a book a satisfying read."

MA Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University is a specialist creative writing course designed for writers for children, teenagers and young adults who aim to complete a novel, series of picture books or shorter stories for young children. It is available to study both on campus and online.