Relic Hamilton Genie Hunter by Joseph Coelho

We are beyond excited to welcome former Children’s Laureate and Author and Poet Extraordinaire, Joseph Coelho to the blog to chat about Relic Hamilton, his latest book with Walker.

My Inspirations behind Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter

“Genies grant wishes! That’s all anyone ever cares about. They forget that genies were imprisoned in those lamps for a reason…” These were the first words that came to me from Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter! The words magically bubbled up into my mind and I couldn’t shift them, I started to wonder about genies and the untold stories of how they ended up in those lamps. A young boy living above an antiques shop swirled into my mind. It was Relic, he was in a basement polishing metal objects preparing them to go into the shop’s window… But one of the objects he polishes … is a genie’s lamp.

I started drawing on my own love for antiques and car boot sales and junk shops and finally, finally found a story that I could pour my student days into. I studied archaeology at UCL and have long wished to write a story centred around an archaeologist. I never imagined that that story would involve the very secretive Hermitic Sodality of Genie Hunters. Their base is in the basement of the Institute of Archaeology. When I studied there the basement housed our common room as well as various offices and labs, it always struck me as a bit of a secret world below the streets of London, ideal for a clandestine operation.

The Genie Hunters get around in a high-tech jet called The Aladdin. Here I was definitely drawing on my love of 80s’ cartoons things like Thundercats and Jayce and The Wheeled Warriors and Cities of Gold, there were often wonderful vehicles in these cartoons that got the protagonists from one adventure to the next so I had a lot of fun equipping the genie hunters’ jet with everything they may need for capturing evil genies.

Libraries of course, feature heavily in this story. I spent over two years joining libraries in every library authority in the UK, I have 217 library cards! I completed my library marathon during my tenure as Children’s Laureate in 2022–2024. I did this to promote libraries and to encourage everyone to become a member of their local library. Libraries often pop up in my stories and it is no different here. The leader of the Genie Hunters is Professor Laurence Latimer. He is the director of the Institute, but on the side he hunts genies. He loves books and genie lore and has a library of chained books in the sub-basement of Genie Hunter HQ inspired by Hereford Cathedral Library and of course, a library is present on the Aladdin jet.

I conjured up my favourite pastimes and hobbies, venues and themes whilst writing this book, for this reason you will find time-travel and the original London Bridge (the one covered in shops and housing) dinosaurs and trips to London museums, mudlarking and a whole lot of magic. I wanted to create my own super-hero and so gave Relic the powers he needs to defeat genies of the worst kind. His powers come in the form of sprites – magical creatures from the genie realm. Six of them have bonded themselves to Relic and hover around his waist in special Sprite Lamps ready to be called upon should he need to fly, or become a warrior or simply needs someone to talk to.

I had so much fun writing Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter and can’t wait for readers to dive into this world and to share in some of the things that have brought me many smiles over the years.

 

Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.