My publishers have been sending proof copies of my new book TYGER out to various readers in the past few weeks – authors, booksellers, teachers, librarians – and it is amazing to see people's reactions coming in. I worked on this book for 9 years, so it means more than I can say to read responses like these:
It took @whatSFSaid nine years to write #Tyger (artwork from @DaveMcKean ) but it will still be read in a hundred years. This sublime, shimmering Blakeian fantasy - for children and adults alike - thrills, enlarges and heals the soul in equal measure. An out and out masterpiece. pic.twitter.com/EBggCkKzBj
— Piers Torday 🇺🇦 (@PiersTorday) June 19, 2022
I was so excited to read #Tyger. Nervous too, because my hopes were so high. But it is phenomenal. This is a book which will stay with children for the rest of their lives and shape their imaginations & the way they see the world. Congratulations @whatSFSaid it is extraordinary. pic.twitter.com/3zLgoE8Z1Y
— Kate Ereira (@klereira) June 10, 2022
What a book!!!
— Simon Smith (@smithsmm) June 10, 2022
Nine years in the writing and completely and utterly worth every ounce of effort and painstaking toil. “TYGER” by @whatSFSaid is an utter masterpiece. Powerful, beautiful and totally unafraid. Outstanding achievement. Can’t wait to see the fully finished version pic.twitter.com/BVV2ZDVnDk
You wait years and years for a masterpiece and then one comes along. Blimey @whatSFSaid pic.twitter.com/IxaJ3bAZFd
— Frank Cottrell-Boyce (@frankcottrell_b) June 16, 2022
#TYGER by @whatSFSaid, illustrated by @DaveMcKean
— Miss Cleveland 📖🌻 (@MissNCleveland) June 9, 2022
What on earth do I say about this?
Absolutely blown away and don't know how I'm going to wait until October to read it all over again with every one of Dave McKean's illustrations.
I have a new favourite book!@DFB_storyhouse pic.twitter.com/fU8ls9bakP
Finished this this morning. As good as expected! Like William Blake & C.S. Lewis & Diana Wynne Jones & Pullman & Aiken got rescued from a whirlwind by @whatSFSaid & made into something new & visionary & exciting & hopeful & deeply-dreamt & truly-lived. (With @DaveMcKean too.) pic.twitter.com/MDsXrv2pjL
— A.F. Harrold (@afharrold) June 12, 2022
I have finished Tyger by @whatSFSaid. I LOVED it so much. A masterpiece of a story: beautiful, brilliant, perfect! https://t.co/gQUz6XsALX
— Peter Bunzl (@peterbunzl) June 12, 2022
I was supposed to get all my other jobs done first… but I weakened and read it from cover to beautiful cover. Honed and chiselled over nine years, TYGER made my heart burst with its relevance. True food for the soul @whatSFSaid @DFB_storyhouse pic.twitter.com/lINZDWesdQ
— Dr Laura Ovenden 🇺🇦 (@OvendenLaura) June 12, 2022
Finished at three in the morning but it was worth it. #Tyger is everything I hoped it would be & a whole lot more. The @whatSFSaid @DaveMcKean & @DFB_storyhouse combination have produced something incredible. However high your expectations are for this book, it will exceed them. pic.twitter.com/nBJErAZw5T
— Jon Biddle (@jonnybid) June 12, 2022
Watch out for Tyger by @whatSFSaid What a glorious triumph of a book. pic.twitter.com/quU2e25xFD
— Berlie Doherty (@BerlieDoherty) June 18, 2022
"... you should never stop questioning the world and everything in it; wondering how it could be different." This book is magnificent. This #Tyger burns bright. @whatSFSaid @DaveMcKean @DFB_storyhouse pic.twitter.com/rsDTPCoAeN
— Gill Ward (@fortislibbie) June 19, 2022
Tyger @whatSFSaid is breathtaking, in turns heartbreaking and achingly beautiful. Imagination-stirring, wise and thought provoking, it will make a brilliant class read. Cover art and internal illustrations by @DaveMcKean. Publishing with @DFB_storyhouse Oct '22. pic.twitter.com/TLfIW9OE2I
— Sophie Anderson (@sophieinspace) June 22, 2022
I am taking this book VERY slowly. There are moments when I have to stop reading because the writing is so breathtaking, I can’t read on. Some passages are like nothing else I’ve read and so intensely vivid I have to remind myself that I’m not *there*. Uniquely inspiring. #Tyger pic.twitter.com/tZa0EAuN8V
— Ben Harris (@one_to_read) June 21, 2022