The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic

World-conquering * The Guardian *The Wizards of Once was my BOTM on launch last year, going on to win the Blue Peter Award. In the sequel, Wish and Xar must work together once more. A brilliantly realised fantasy adventure and an absolute delight. * The Bookseller *This sequel is just as exciting as the first instalment and just as thrilling, gorgeously written and illustrated….Cressida Cowell’s writing is so warm; it just flows like a runaway train. There’s real friendship here and some deep truths about family dynamics. * Book Trust *Cressida Cowell writes exceptional fantasy novels, full of atmosphere, and this is another great story. Wonderful illustrations by the author are key to the story and work really well to keep children’s attention, as well as setting the scene. * Parents in Touch *Cressida Cowell’s writing is so warm; it just flows like a runaway train. There’s real friendship here and some deep truths about family dynamics. * BookTrust *Also back is dragon-mistress Cressida Cowell. Twice Magic (Hodder £12.99) is the sequel to last year’s The Wizards of Once, and masterfully picks up this series’ tale of the errant son and daughter of two opposing clans, the Wizards (who loathe iron) and the Warriors (who despise magic), who are in turn besieged by the massing forces of the seriously unpleasant Kingwitch * The Guardian *Dragon-wrangler Cressida Cowell came back strong too. The second instalment of her new universe, Twice Magic (Hachette), found her misfit young Wizard and her magically misfiring Warrior princess striving to unite their enemy tribes against a clear and present danger: the malevolent Kingwitch, so horrible you can smell him on the page. * The Guardian *Dragon-wrangler Cressida Cowell came back strong too. The second instalment of her new universe, Twice Magic (Hachette), found her misfit young Wizard and her magically misfiring Warrior princess striving to unite their enemy tribes against a clear and present danger: the malevolent Kingwitch, so horrible you can smell him on the page. * The Guardian Books of the Year *Cressida Cowell’s writing is so warm; it just flows like a runaway train. * Book Trust *Magic and high-octane action * The Daily Mail *

Cressida Cowell is the author and the illustrator of the globally bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series. Her next series, The Wizards of Once, was an international bestseller. Cressida is also the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton. The Which Way series is her most recent and has already been translated into 15 languages.

How to Train Your Dragon has sold over 8 million books worldwide in 42 languages. It is also an award-winning DreamWorks film series, and a TV series shown on Netflix and CBBC. The Wizards of Once has been translated into 38 languages and also signed by DreamWorks.

Cressida was the Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2019-2022). She is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency and a founder patron of the Children’s Media Foundation. She has won numerous prizes for her books, including the Gold Award in the Nestle Children’s Book Prize, the Hay Festival Medal for Fiction, and Philosophy Now’ magazine’s 2015 Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity.

She grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland and she now lives in Hammersmith with her husband, three children and a dog called Pigeon.