John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs, aka Metaphrog, have signed a two-book deal with Scholastic UK for a middle grade fantasy graphic novel series, the first book out next year.
First announced in The Bookseller, the books form part of Scholastic UK‘s Graphix imprint, originally established in 2005 by the publisher’s US division. Graphix’s aim is to “champion the art of graphic storytelling by seeking out and empowering groundbreaking visual authors”. (Check out Scholastic’s Graphic Novels here)
Wilomina – The Land of Dreams and Nightmares will publish in September 2026, with a second volume to follow in October 2027.
Studio Ghibli meets Wednesday in this action-packed, fantastical full-colour graphic novel for readers aged 8-12, full of wild imagination, enchanting characters and hair-raising adventure.
On their way to visit Mum in hospital, Wilomina, her father and baby brother Kes get stuck in the middle of nowhere. Desperate, Wilomina leaps aboard a mysterious train – and away from the world she knows. On board, she meets Mephisto, a talking cat – and this is only the beginning of the absurd…
Soon, Wilomina is separated from her family, tumbling into Nocturna – a parallel land where dreams and nightmares come from. But something eerie is happening: the nightmares are taking over. With Mephisto’s help, Wilomina must find her family and seek the gate that will lead them home. On their journey, they meet spectres, dragons and spider-witches, crossing monster-infested waters and facing impossible puzzles at the maze-like Premonition Library.
But worst of all: Nocturna is slowly transforming Wilomina into a ferocious ‘werepire’. Can she fight the monster within… and find the way home?
“Think Spirited Away meets Wednesday meets Labyrinth, with adventure, mystery, fun and excitement!” say John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs, who, at the suggestion of their editor, will now be working under their own names, instead of Metaphrog.
“It’s just something we discussed and agreed with our editor,” they say. “It’s more accessible and personal. But we’re not parting completely with the pen name, we’re still keeping Metaphrog for our website and all our social media handles.”
Thanking their agent Molly Jamieson at United Agents, and Julia Sanderson at Scholastic, John and Sandra are “beyond thrilled” to be working with them, and making this a reality, and say “the Scholastic’s team’s enthusiasm has been absolutely fantastic!
The publisher chose Wilomina as a lead title at Bologna Book Fair this year and Wilomina got her special lightbox display, along with exclusive samplers.
“The idea for Wilomina leaping into the land of dreams and nightmares hit us like a bolt of lightning,” John and Sandra reveal. “Molly loved it straight away too, and we’re incredibly excited that Scholastic jumped on board.
“Graphix is our favourite graphic novel imprint so it’s a dream to be part of it, and all at a time when graphic novels are taking off in the UK,” the talented pair continue. “We can’t wait for young readers to meet Wilomina and follow her adventures in the fantastical world that is Nocturna!”
“John and Sandra are truly experts at what they do and have been a dream to work with in developing this incredibly exciting home-grown graphic novel,” comments Julia Sanderson, Senior Commissioning Editor at Scholastic UK. “Their bold new heroine’s magical, uncanny adventure into an unpredictable parallel world reminded me of beloved childhood film, Labyrinth – with a brilliant Wednesday meets Studio Ghibli twist.
“With its vibrant, accessible format, Wilomina is the perfect bridge to encourage growing young readers to explore the riches of middle-grade fantasy, and I’m delighted to launch it on our Graphix list at Scholastic.”
John and Sandra will be posting more about the project as it develops through their newsletter – sign up for it over at metaphrog.com – and on their socials.
Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers, who live in Glasgow, are a Franco-Scottish duo, author and illustrator of children’s graphic novels and comics, also known as Metaphrog. They are winners of The Sunday Herald Scottish Culture Awards 2016 Best Visual Artist.
Frequent guests at comic events internationally, they have been creating comics and graphic novels since 1996, and their graphic novels have received international acclaim and multiple award nominations, including three for the Eisner Awards, and Louis – Night Salad was also Highly Commended for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2011.
Metaphrog have also undertaken key commissioned work for prestigious clients, for example their comic adaptation of Edwin Morgan’s Poem The First Men on Mercury for The Association for Scottish Literary Studies.
John is from Scotland and studied engineering and science, gaining three degrees, including a PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering in a branch of Opto-Electronics involving micro-machining. In 1994 he had just returned to Scotland from working in the Netherlands. Sandra, from France, left art school, packed her bag and moved to Scotland in search of adventure. Their meeting was a catalyst and within a few months they created Metaphrog.
• Visit their official website and sign up for the Metaphrog newsletter: metaphrog.com/newsletter
• Follow John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs aka Metaphrog on Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | X | LinkTree
• Scholastic UK – Graphic Novels
• Read The Bookseller feature on this news here
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, British Comics - Graphic Novels, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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