The Bookseller – Rights – Farshore snaps up Jennifer Killick’s spooky middle-grade series

Farshore will publish Serial Chillers, a spooky middle grade comedy-horror series from award-winning author Jennifer Killick.

Sarah Levison, editorial director at Farshore, acquired the world rights to three books by Kirsty McLachlan, founder of the literary agency Morgan Green Creatives.

The first book in the Serial Chillers series is scheduled for release in April 2025, book two in February 2026, and book three in September 2026.

Farshore said: “Serial Chillers is set in the town of Hazard, a place notorious for mysterious disappearances and unexplained disturbances. But for the children who grow up there, it’s simply their strange and spooky home. As the town’s young people are thrown into a series of life-or-death situations, will they discover the truth behind the horrors of Hazard?”

Levison said: “We couldn’t be happier to have acquired a new series from Jennifer Killick. Jennifer is a superstar of the middle grade market, incredibly popular with young readers – especially those who aren’t quite reading yet – and is highly regarded in the industry for her books, which children aged nine to twelve enjoy reading.

“The market has been hungry for decades for an author who can capture children’s imaginations and their love of scary stories in the same way that RL Stine did for many of us and that ‘Stranger Things’ did for a new generation. And Jennifer Killick has answered that call.”

Killick commented: “I loved working with Farshore on the Dread Wood series and am so excited to be embarking on another spooky adventure with them. I’m incredibly grateful to my agent Kirsty McLachlan and the team at Farshore, especially Sarah Levison, for giving me another amazing opportunity.”

Farshore called Killick a “true successor to Goosebumps’ RL Stine”. Her bestselling Dread Wood series has won several awards, many of them voted for by children, including the FCBG Children’s Book Award for Older Readers in 2023, the Lancashire School Library Service Fantastic Book Awards 2024 and the BASH 2024 Awards. Dread Wood was selected as part of BookTrust’s Bookbuzz scheme and Killick was also a World Book Day author this year with her £1 book Creepy Creations.