Harklights

By Tim Tilley

Published May 2021

Winner of the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize

Nature takes care of us.

It’s only right we take care of it in return.

Wick has always lived in the dark and dreadful Harklights Match Factory and Orphanage, working tirelessly for greedy Old Ma Bogey.  He only dreams of escaping, until one day a bird drops something impossible and magical at his feet – a tiny baby in an acorn cradle.

As midnight chimes, Wick is visited by the Hobs, miniature protectors of the forest.  Grateful for the kindness Wick showed to their stolen child, they offer him the chance of a lifetime – escape from Harklights and begin a new life with them in the wild…