Few teenagers can say they have written a best-selling book; but for sixth form students, Dominic Burrows, and Sam Mather, that is exactly what happened.
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The students, who both attend the Beckett school in West Bridgford, were just twelve years old when they came up with the idea for Up and Down: Glugg and the Gangoils. In an English tuition session they a fantastical world with magical in habitants. In a world like nothing ever encountered before, Up and Down is home to fish people plagued by fire demons who cause no end of trouble.With a penguin king, hot sauce everywhere, and not forgetting the exciting (and bloodthirsty) sport of bubbleball, and even more hot sauce, it is truly unforgettable, for all the right reasons.
Up and Down: Glugg and the Gangoils is unique. It is written for twelve year old boys (and girls), by twelve year old boys and may be the only book that can say this. Co-writer Sarah Hindmarsh said, “While I did the actual writing part – putting the words in order – every detail of the world, plot and characters came straight out of the heads of twelve year olds. They dreamt up entire new sports, magic systems, villages, monsters and story lines. They also approved every chapter and insisted on making it much more blood-thirsty and a lot funnier.”
Released at the beginning of December; Up and Down shot up the best seller lists and on December 11th 2021 it was number one in the children’s sword and sorcery category, ahead of the likes of David Walliams and JK Rowling! It seems Glugg and his friends are on course for superstardom.
What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that neither of the young writers had ever thought of themselves as being very good at English. When they first met writer and private tutor, Sarah Hindmarsh, who co-wrote the book with them, they were both struggling with English in school. Dominic is dyslexic, while Sam is better at maths and science subjects. Writing the book gave them the confidence to succeed and both achieved excellent grades in their GCSE English subjects in 2020.
If you want your very own copy, the book is available as a paperback and eBook on amazon.com. A limited number of signed copies can be purchased directly from the authors. Find Sarah on Facebook @Sarahhindmarshauthor or email [email protected].