I am SO incredibly delighted that The Wolf’s Secret has been chosen as Foyles’ Children Book of the Year 2020 !
This is such an amazing honor for us, especially as this is our first book written in english. Nicolas and I wrote this story back in 2014, and it has been a long and bumpy road before getting it published. But we were lucky enough to meet incredible people along the way – our agent Helen Boyle, the passionate Orchard team, and of course Julia, who created spellbinding illustrations for our story.
Writing can be such a solitary thing and you often have no idea if what you are doing is any good. And especially with this book, we received so many rejection letters that it was hard to keep believing it will one day be published. So that’s why reading Gary Powell’s words, (who is Web Trading Manager at Foyles) was such an immense joy “The Wolf’s Secret is a gorgeous story, with gorgeous illustrations, and gorgeously published, that we just kept coming back to. The characters and story don’t shy away from wildness, from sadness or ambiguity, but at its heart there’s a story of companionship and support: there’s darkness in the world, but there’s also mystery and hope.” I’m so happy that this book has finally seen the light and I’m incredibly grateful for having recognition from an institution like Foyles
This book is a tribute to traditional folk tales – dark, ambivalent, somewhat mysterious – but we also wanted to add a touch of modernity, in the rhythm, the musicality of the text and the message.
I hope readers of all ages will enjoy it.
Myriam Dahman 