book deal
Portrait of a 9-year old caucasian boy sitting at home at his desk and doing his maths homework. Candid shot, natural light.

‘Astonishing’: 4-Year-Old Boy Lands Book Deal For Poems About Loneliness, Braces For Lifetime of Poetic Misery

Every parent likes to think their kid is the best, but how many of those parents have a 4-year-old with a book deal? We’re guessing just one. Yasmine Shamma of the UK started transcribing her young son Nadim Shamma-Sourgen’s poems and posting them on social media. Now he’s a rising star in the literary world.

Orwell prize winner, poet, and teacher Kate Clanchy discovered the little boy’s work. He’s since landed a book deal with Walker books, which will release his “astonishing” collection of poems next summer.

“Nadim has the very rare ability to articulate in images what it is to be a four-year-old, to love your mum and bugs, to wonder about baddies, baths and love, and to ‘hang up your brave’ when you come in from nursery,” Clanchy said. “The individual poems moved thousands on Twitter, but they work even better as a group because they create a whole world full of glitter and hugs. This will be such a special book to share with a child.”

Nadim is one of the youngest people in history to land a book deal. He’s even gone on television shows to talk about his work (with his finger firmly inserted in his nose). But all the attention hasn’t gone to his head yet. “I like writing poems especially about nature. I feel happy that my poems will be in a book,” he said. “When my poems are in a book, can I please have a copy?”

Sure, kid. But if you’re determined to be a poet, be prepared for a lifetime of misery.

Cover Photo: EThamPhoto (Getty Images)

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