Joe’s back… in the sequel to What Happened to You?
You’re So Amazing! is coming in May 2023, and pre-orders are now open. We both wrote this one, so you’re getting two disabled authors for the price of one, really.
Writing this together, as a married couple with such different experiences of disability, has been fascinating. James is called “amazing” a lot – as a wheelchair user it’s a reaction I get far, far less. But of course this is James’s story really, because Joe is basically child-James – just as he is in What Happened to You? Over to him for the rest of this post…
– Lucy
📚 Link to pre-order here – international delivery included 🌎
Ah, the Difficult Second Book. It really is a thing. You spend years dredging the first one from the depths of your soul, fussing over every last detail until it’s truly, finally ready. And if it flops, well, that’s awful. But at least the pressure’s off. If it flies, though…then what?
Here’s what. Your publisher says, ‘well done and all – now, have you started thinking about the sequel? No? Ah. Well, get thinking, because if we’re to keep your momentum going, you’ll need to deliver it this side of Christmas. Give or take a few days.’ I exaggerate. A bit.
Luckily, the wife said, ‘I know. The next one should be about the narratives that are always attached to disability. And it should go like this:
Joe was amazing.
He knew he was amazing,
because everyone kept telling him
he was amazing.
And who am I to disagree with that?
– James
🌍 A note on North America 🌎
We’re planning a post about US editions of both books imminently to explain more. We now have a US publisher – Little, Brown – but they’ll publish What Happened to You? first so there’s a bit of a wait for the US edition of You’re So Amazing!
Wherever you are, there’s always the option of ordering through our Blackwell’s link – it works literally everywhere, and shipping is included. That way, a UK copy will be sent out to you in May 2023. With a very handsome bookmark if you’re lucky.
If you’d like to hear more about You’re So Amazing, you might be interested in the Bookseller announcement.
There’s more about What Happened to You? – the first Joe book – in our 2020 cover reveal here. And a lesson plan for teachers, too.
If you’re looking for a list of great books by disabled authors, you can find our favourite 20 here – children, adults, novels, non-fiction, poetry – take your pick…
We’re not as good as updating this blog as we could be, but you can always find us over on Instagram, where we’re much more organised!
– Lucy & James Catchpole
[Image description:
- A digital image of a picture book cover – You’re SO Amazing! Joe, a blonde white child with one leg and yellow crutches is trapping a football. The background is white, and Joe looks quizzically out at the viewer. The names “Lucy & James Catchpole” (writers) and “Karen George” (illustrator)… and ‘Karen George’ (the illustrator) appear at the top.
- A full-length photo of James & Lucy, with a small jpg of You’re So Amazing! in the corner. We’re a white couple with brown hair – James has one leg and is holding crutches, Lucy is sitting in her wheelchair. We were on holiday, there’s woodland behind us and we look happy. Text reads: ‘By James & Lucy Catchpole’
- A stack of picture books – What Happened to You? on a wonky brick wall, text on a cream paper background reads: ‘More Joe, anyone?!’ It’s a children’s picture book with a one-legged white child on a swing on the front.
- An image of You’re So Amazing with a brick pile background. Our text reads ‘Faber & Faber 2023’ ‘Illustrated by Karen George’.
- Two jpg book cover images side by side – What Happened to You? and You’re So Amazing! The background image is a photo of James’s prosthetic leg propped against Lucy’s wheelchair in the garden. They look cosy – for mobility aids. Our text reads: ‘Joe is back & preorders are open!’
- Text reads: ‘Why preorder? Bookshops & publishers check pre-orders to see how a book’s likely to sell. So if you know you want to support a book. you’re genuinely helping its chances of getting into bricks & mortar shops, onto bestseller lists, & earning a nice fat print run.
- Background image of Blackwell’s bookshop in Oxford – an impressive old shop with an eighteenth century facade. Text reads: ‘You can pre-order anywhere. If you order through our affiliate link, you’ll be buying from Blackwell’s. Sometimes, they include a very handsome bookmark.’
The Catchpoles 