Skrimsli: Cover Reveal

Skrimsli: Cover Reveal

“I don’t think I’ve ever loved a cover more or been so involved with a character than with Skrimsli,” wrote author Nicola Davies recently. Skrimsli, the prequel to double-Carnegie nominated The Song That Sings Us will publish with Firefly Press in September 2023 with a cover by artist Jackie Morris. Both author and artist are hugely talented and it is a real thrill to see them continue their creative relationship with a second collaboration. Jackie and Nicola have been firm friends for many years, both have a passion for the wild and a belief in active hope. Davies calls Morris’ cover ‘glorious’ whilst Morris says Davies’ novel is ‘a triumph’.

For the first time, here is the cover…

Nicola told us, “Jackie was one of the first to love my tiger Skrimsli and her cover catches his spirit and the soul of the story. Her beautiful map makes the world in my head accessible for everyone.”

Nicola recently gave her twitter followers a sneak preview of writing from the new book:

The cover lettering is by textual artist Stephen Raw, who has exhibited widely, and is currently artist-in-residence at Manchester Cathedral. You may recognise this combination of artist and calligrapher (Morris/Raw) from the Robin Hobb books.

The synopsis from the publisher is as follows:

Skrimsli is the second fantasy adventure from author Nicola Davies set in a world where animals and humans can sometimes share their thoughts. It traces the early life of Skrimsli, the tiger sea captain who stole readers’ hearts in The Song that Sings Us.

He and his friends, Owl and Elo, must escape the clutches of the tyrannical circus owner Kobret Majak, and his twin assassin-acrobats, then stop a war and save the ancient forest, where the Tiger, and the Owl are sacred guardians. Skrimsli and his friends are helped by the Palatine, desert princess and her eagle, a chihuahua who thinks she’s a wolf, a horse with heart of gold and the crew of a very unusual ship.

This is a story full of excitement and danger, that explores themes of friendship, loyalty, identity and love, in the context of some of humanity’s toughest problems.

A recent post in Jackie’s online journal describes her approach to the stunning map that will grace Skrimsli. Follow the link to read about this fascinating process. The full cover jacket is shown below.

Skrimsli, written by Nicola Davies is scheduled to be published on 14 Sept 2023 in foiled hardback with cover, map and internal illustrations by Jackie Morris. Huge thanks to Firefly Press for inviting us to reveal the cover; it is a great honour. Preorder your copy now direct from their website.

Links

Visit Nicola’s website and follow her on twitter

Visit Jackie Morris’ website and twitter

Visit Stephen Raw‘s website and twitter