Which Way to Anywhere: From the No.1 bestselling author of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

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A new series by Cressida Cowell is always an event. Her How to Train Your Dragon books, about the escapades of a hapless young Viking called Hiccup, sold more than 10 million copies; and The Wizards of Once stories, in which two children get into magical mishaps in a fantasia of ancient Britain, is being made into a Hollywood film. Can she pull it off again? There is no Magic here on Earth. At least, that's what you've been told . . . But in an ordinary-looking house in an ordinary-looking village, live a group of children who are about to uncover a secret. The night in Oxford was the most beautiful event I have ever done. Not just the spectacular setting (of the Sheldonian), but an unforgettable evening.

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of How to Train Your Dragon and Wizards of Once comes an out-of-this-world adventure where magic and reality collide! Can the O'Hero and Smith siblings put aside their squabbling long enough to save their family and a planet? He draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest of imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers, armoured robots and dark, twisty jungles alive with cannibal plants who hunt by the smell of fear. But what K2 doesn't know, is that the maps he draws are real. They are worlds beyond the world we know, and the maps he draws make up an Alternative Atlas showing the exact spot where the worlds cross. Cowell makes inventive choices at every turn, blending elements of SF and fantasy. It’s great to find a fantastical realm where plastic, rather than gold or silver, is an important material.Izzabird and Theo are fighting because they do not like their combined family, but we never find out why beyond that Izzabird thinks the Smiths are boring and Theo things the O’Hero’s are witches. Keep an ideas notebook so you can scribble down ideas and drawings. This doesn’t need to be neat, and no one should be correcting it for spelling, because spelling doesn’t matter. I kept an sketchbook for The Wizards of Once for about 5 years. I loved this book as it was epic and fast paced and crazy... I especially loved the toothbrushes!' 9 year old The-face Amongst all of the arguments and chaos there was a surprise misty eyed moment that had me trying to figure out how to get myself grafted into the O’Hero-Smith family. ‘This is what being a family means.’ Thankfully this is the first in a new series. I absquo-lootely adore books where someone can say, ‘Something’s spooked the toothbrushes …’ and it makes perfect sense. But K2 has a secret gift: He draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers, and dark, twisty jungles alive with plants that hunt by the smell of fear. But what K2 doesn’t know is that the maps he draws are real .

The stepfather doesn’t suspect he married into such an interesting family. Neither does Theo, his intelligent and sporty son, or Mabel, his quiet and kind daughter. When Cressida wasn’t on the island, she was going to school at Marlborough College in Wiltshire where she met and became close friends with Lauren Child, a fellow author/illustrator and the creator of TV’s Charlie and Lola. Cressida and Lauren remain close friends. Indeed Lauren is godmother to Cressida’s daughter Clemmie. Which Way to Anywhere with Cressida Cowell – Bath Children’s Literature Festival : Bath Children’s Literature Festival (bathfestivals.org.uk) But K2 has a secret gift: he draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest of imaginations. Worlds with six hundred moons, burning rivers and dark, twisty jungles alive with plants that hunt by the smell of fear. But what K2 doesn’t know, is that the maps he draws are real.When starting Wizards of Once I noticed plenty of similarities with How to train your dragon. The disapproving parents, the tiny creature that speaks in a funny way and the older family member that hates one of the main characters. Wish, Xar and the parents turned out unique because they reacted to the same things wildly differently. Xar shared Hiccup’s talent of talking himself out of trouble but used it as defense mechanism to hide his insecurities. Wish had Hiccup’s good heart but suffered from parent-induced emotional trauma. Bodkin’s fearfulness led him to be manipulated as opposed to Fishlegs’ unwavering loyalty. Cressida wrote and illustrated her first picture book, Little Bo Peep’s Library Book, for Hodder Children’s Books in 1998. Her first novel for eight to twelve year olds, How to Train Your Dragon, was published to popular and critical acclaim in 2003: ‘The next big thing in children’s literature,’ wrote The Independent on Sunday. ‘Irresistibly funny, exciting and endearing,’ said The Times. K2 is a seemingly unremarkable boy who does his best not to stand out. Izzabird, his twin, is smart, funny and chatty. Their family has a strange Magical history - ‘There’s nothing strange about US!’ but the twins are under strict instructions not to tell anyone. Which Way to Anywhere is an inventive midgrade portal fantasy featuring maps, robots and latent superpowers. There’s an environmental message and I witnessed some pretty impressive courageous acts. A number of characters were vying for the coveted title of Big Bad.

A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation; a lively informed and tolerant audience; privileged access to the great treasures of the Bodleian, and finally, wonderfully interesting dinner companions to help me conclude the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere. This is a story with four heroes: K2, Izzabird, Theo and Mabel. The beginning of the book asks: who will be your favourite of the four heroes? And honestly, I just can’t choose. Each of the four siblings has their own unique flare and set of strengths that complement each other. Without their individuality, they wouldn’t grow to be the awesome team they become – even if they don’t realise it at first. Unlike her previous fantasy series, Which Way to Anywhere is set in the present day. “This is a story of a Very Modern Magic that is not buried faraway in the darkness of the Bronze Ages nor in the shifting mists of the Viking past, but is hiding in plain sight.” But while the landscape has changed, Cowell has not – and what follows is a highly imagined roller-coaster of a fantasy, written with the author’s familiar panache: “We’re visiting Earth at a very bad moment, when one particular family has most unfortunately come to the notice of the most ruthless and imperious and dreadful minds in the Infinite Galaxies…” But K2 and his sister Izzabird have been sworn to silence about their family's magical legacy - and they themselves are not aware of the value of the drawings. Still, they resent Theo and fear his suspicions and his allegation that their mother is a witch will lead to trouble.Which way to Anywhere is new story. It centres around the rather mixed up O'Hero/Smith blended family. K2 and his sister, Izzabird are the descendants of the magical O'Hero family, who have been joined in their rather unique and strange home by Theo and Mabel Smith. The two sets of children are struggling to get along and adjust to being a family when a substitute geography teacher/intergalactic pirate suddenly gives the children a strange map drawing task. This sets off a bizarre chain of events that sets the children on an adventure to a planet millions of miles away from Earth. When 11-year-old K2 O'Hero discovers he has a Magical gift allowing him and his siblings to travel to alternative worlds (yes, there really are alternative worlds out there), some very weird things start happening. And when someone they love is in danger, the children must set off on a rescue mission to a planet on the other side of the Galaxy . . . Often kids say to be that they aren’t very good at writing, but I know that’s not true – what they’re struggling with is the mechanics of getting the words onto paper. If you can make up a game in the playground, or you tell your friends stories, you can be an author! Get an adult to write or type for you, if you need to. Join Cressida Cowell, former Waterstones Children’s Laureate and author of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once, as she introduces the first book in the brand new magical adventure series Which Way to Anywhere. Which Way to Anywhere is a story full of twists and turns, encompassing magic and mystery. K2 and Izzabird O'Hero are born into a magical family and sworn to secrecy. After their father mysteriously disappears (presumed dead), they acquire a new family who they need to keep their secret from. Theo and Mabel Smith (their stepsiblings) do not like the O'Heros and are highly suspicious of them and try to make their lives a misery. Little do they know that K2 has a secret gift: he draws maps of worlds that are beyond the wildest of imaginations but this gift puts the family in danger when Cyril Sidewinder - a Geography teacher in disguise - terrorises the family and kidnaps a child. The warring stepsiblings need to put their differences aside and embark on a journey to new lands to rescue their sister and father before it is too late!

After school, Cressida obtained a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, a BA in Graphic Design from St Martin’s and an MA in Narrative Illustration from Brighton. Clueless the dog yawned. She had seen plenty of stuff like this before in this house. It would take more than an animated hairdryer to impress her. A magical adventure that involves a blended family coming together to rescue their baby sister. As expected from a Cressida Cowell story, this is fun with lots of close escapes, villains who are actually quite good, good characters who end up being bad ... and all illustrated with some wonderfully evocative drawings. My top writing tip would be to read lots, to give you a feel for the way different stories can be told. Also practise writing as much as you can – write, and re-write – don’t worry if you don’t finish a story, as long as you are practising, that’s what matters. Also don’t worry if your stories aren’t very long: I didn’t start out writing books as long as the ones I write now. Cressida Cowell was the Waterstones Children's Laureate (2019-2022). She is the author and illustrator of the bestselling The Wizards of Once and How to Train Your Dragon books series, and the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton.

The Oxford Literary Festival has in my mind become the leading literary festival of the year. The organisation, the roster of speakers, the ambience and the sheer quality of it all is superb. May it now go from strength to strength each year stretching its ambition more and more. I believe it will. You can be inspired by your own experiences. Ideas I had about Vikings and dragons during summer holidays when I was 9 years old became 12 books, and a film and TV series. I had a slightly unusual childhood (I spent my summers on an uninhabited Scottish Island), but the world we all live in is full of extraordinary, wonderful idea for stories. You only have to watch an episode of Blue Planet to see that’s true. Cowell is the author and illustrator of the bestselling How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once series. She is also the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton. How to Train Your Dragon has sold over 8 million books worldwide in 38 languages. It is also an award-winning DreamWorks film series, and a television series shown on Netflix and CBBC. Magical worlds as only Cressida Cowell can. Just like The Wizards of Once series, this first book in the Which Way to Anywhere series is incredibly imaginative while this time linking into normal daily life and family matters with a blended family struggling to get along.