The Bookseller's Apprentice

Description

See a whole new side to Amelia Mellor's magical Melbourne in this action-packed prequel to The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Twelve-year-old Billy Pyke has a talent for sorting things out, whether it's his chaotic family home or the busy book stall at Paddy's Market. In 1871, the market is the loud, smelly, marvellous heart of Melbourne, and Billy is delighted to work at the book stall there for the eccentric Mr Cole. When his new friend Kezia warns him of a sinister magician called the Obscurosmith, Billy can't believe her stories of magical deals gone horribly wrong - until he sees them happening. And the night that the Obscurosmith crosses a terrifying and dangerous line, Billy realises something: if he wants the Obscurosmith stopped, he'll have to do it himself. Award-winning author Amelia Mellor delivers another race-against-time adventure in this action-packed prequel to The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Loaded with tricks, riddles, magic and mayhem, The Bookseller's Apprentice is perfect for Mellor fans and newcomers alike.

Amelia Mellor began her writing career as her secondary school's resident playwright in Year 11. As part of her creative writing course at the University of Melbourne, she completed a thesis on the reinvention of the Industrial Revolution in children's fantasy literature. In 2018, she won the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust's Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship for The Grandest Bookshop in the World. Her other writing credits include a 2018 ASA Award Mentorship and a finalist place in the 2016 Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers' Contest. When she isn't writing, Amelia enjoys hiking, gardening and drawing. She is an English teacher in regional Victoria.