Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Book excerpt: Winner of the Dymocks and QBD Children's Book of the Year 2018 and a New York Times bestseller, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is the first in an enchanting series for fantasy fans of all ages. Morrigan Crow is cursed. Born on an unlucky day, she is blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on Eventide. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It's there that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart. Except for Morrigan, who doesn't seem to have any special talent at all. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate. Winner Dymocks Book of the Year 2018 Winner QBD Children's Book of the Year 2018 Winner Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018 Winner Book of the Year for Younger Children, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018 Winner The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018 Winner Book of the Year, Indie Book Awards 2018 Winner Children's Category, Indie Book Awards 2018 Winner Nielsen Booksellers' Choice Award, Australian Booksellers Association Awards 2018 Winner Best Children's Fiction, Aurealis Awards 2017 Winner Younger Fiction, Waterstones Children's Book Prize (UK) 2018 Winner Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, Cybils Award 2018 Winner West Australian Young Readers' Book Award, Younger Readers, 2019 Winner South Australian Premier's Award, 2020 Winner Adelaide Festival Children's Literature Award, 2020 Shortlisted The Readings Children's Book Prize 2018 A CBCA Notable book Voted #1 in the Dymocks Kids' Top 51 Nevermoor is followed by Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow and Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow Praise for Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow: 'Unexpected, exciting and funny.' - Judith Rossell, ABIA Award-winning author of Withering-by-Sea 'Exciting, charming, and wonderfully imagined, it's the sort of delightful, grand adventure destined to be many a reader's favourite book.' - Trenton Lee Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Benedict Society series