Otter Barry Books at 10
At our conference in April we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Otter Barry Books with publisher Janetta Otter Barry. She has written a post for us about their story so far.
The time was right for a new children’s publisher in 2016 – and in May that year we published our first six titles, followed by seven more in the autumn. Karin Littlewood, Jackie Morris and Chitra Soundar were on the opening list, with debut graphic-novel artist Helen Bate and poet James Carter. Ten years later One Cheetah One Cherry has just been republished as a gorgeous board book, The Seal Children is a much-loved gift hardback, Peter in Peril is a core backlist WW2 graphic novel and Immi, Pattan’s Pumpkin and Zim Zam Zoom! are treasured, evergreen paperback picture books.
The inspiration for the list grew out of the Janetta Otter-Barry Books imprint at Frances Lincoln, and from the opportunity to work with seven trusted and highly valued ex-colleagues. Our mission was to champion diversity and inclusion, to make a difference, push boundaries and publish books that children would love – and it still is!
The company now has 150 titles in print – picture books, gift books, information books, graphic novels, young fiction, chapter books – and last but not least, our admired poetry list of 48 titles.
The list has grown organically, curated and marketed with care and passion by our small team, helped by the fantastic sales force at Bounce Sales and Marketing. Special thanks to Robert Snuggs and his team.
Jackie Morris has been a hugely important author and illustrator for us from day one, and more recently as a creative duo with talented artist Cathy Fisher. Other picture book authors and illustrators we’ve developed strong relationships with over the last ten years include outstanding French artist, Barroux, wonderful author/illustrator Petr Horáček, Ken Wilson-Max with his bestselling Astro Girl series, and James Mayhew with his unique books that bring story, art and classical music to families everywhere.
A snapshot of more recently acquired picture book creators showcases our wide range: from Steve Antony and Alex Strick with their inspiring and inclusive YOU CAN! Series and brilliant Syrian artist Nadine Kaadan, to Irish legend Mary Murphy, exciting British Nigerian creator Onyinye Iwu and talented comic illustrator Angie Morgan. With a special mention to non-fiction superstars Mick Manning and Brita Granström and Catherine Barr/Christiane Engel, whose information books tell important real-life stories in such an exciting way.
We are proud of our highly diverse and inclusive first chapter book series, that began with South African icon Niki Daly’s Lolo books, followed by Chitra Soundar’s Nikhil and Jay stories with illustrator Soofya, (now a CBBC series), Enomwoyi Damali’s charming Amber Class series with Ruthine Burton and, for 2026, Michael Catchpool’s fab Maple Street series starring Jake and his Black British extended family, beautifully visualised by Shanarama.
The poetry list has been a joy to develop. We’ve kept our carefully curated list to around four titles a year, have 48 titles in print and are now one of the top children’s poetry publishers in the UK. Joseph Coelho joined the list in 2017 with Overheard in a Tower Block, and it’s been our biggest selling backlist poetry title ever since. In 2022 Joseph became Children’s Laureate and in 2024 he won the Carnegie Medal for Writing with his extraordinary story told in poems, The Boy Lost in the Maze, now in paperback.
Matt Goodfellow joined the list in 2017 with his debut Chicken on the Roof and six years later, in 2023, The Final Year, illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton, became an international sensation and a life-changing book. It won the CLiPPA in 2024, was shortlisted for the Carnegie in 2025 and has won countless other awards across the UK. Readers are now devouring The First Year, the second book about Nate and his world, published in 2025. And in January 2026 we celebrated an amazing 100,000 copies sold of The Final Year.
We are immensely proud of every single one of the exceptionally talented poets on our list, both established names and new voices. And what this wide range of solo collections all have in common is diversity, inclusion, empathy and FUN. We want to thank all of you – and the fabulous illustrators who give the poems such an important visual narrative.
Yes, it can be tough in the marketplace being small and independent. But we get noticed, we win awards, we receive great review coverage and we punch above our weight. We are proud of every single book we’ve ever published and we thank all our authors and illustrators, agents, librarians, booksellers, teachers and YOU at the FCBG for your enthusiasm and support over the last ten years. And I personally want to thank my loyal and superb publishing team. This company would not exist without you.
Views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups
