When I was a kid, I really, really wanted to be published by Knopf.

Partly because it had an amazing name. Partly because it was based in New York, and that was cool. But mostly … because Knopf books had a dog on their spines, and the only things I love almost as much as books are dogs.

It was a really crazy dream, and I thought it had about as much chance of coming true as my dream of owning a zoo and marrying Gerald Durrell.

Well, I still do not own a zoo, and my husband is not Gerald Durrell. But … in 2018, I am going to be a Knopf author.

That’s right: Melanie Nolan at Knopf Books for Young Readers has bought North American rights to The Guggenheim Mystery! From the PW announcement:

Melanie Nolan at Knopf has acquired The Guggenheim Mystery, a middle grade novel inspired by an idea from the late Siobhan Dowd, and written by Murder Is Bad Manners author Robin Stevens. The book features an amateur sleuth named Ted Spark who follows a trail of clues after a theft at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum—with all the evidence pointing to Ted’s aunt. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Camilla Borthwick at Penguin Random House UK did the U.S./Canadian deal on behalf of Stevens and the Siobhan Dowd Trust.

So huge, gigantic thanks to Melanie, to Camilla at PRH and to the wonderful Siobhan Dowd Trust for making my completely random childhood dream a reality. I’m so excited that Siobhan’s and my detective Ted Spark will actually be travelling to America. And who knows? He might even end up at the Guggenheim Museum!