Vashti Hardy

@vashti_hardy  vashtihardyauthor
www.vashtihardy.com

"I hand-on-heart couldn’t have hoped for a more wonderful agent."

Vashti Hardy was previously a primary school teacher with special interest in children’s writing until one day she took her own advice and wrote her first children’s book.

Now a hugely successful children’s author, Vashti's breathtaking middle grade fantasies are published across the world in several languages. Her debut Brightstorm was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Books are My Bag Awards and Leeds Book Award (among many other awards) and her second, Wildspark, won the Blue Peter Book Award ‘Best Story’. Her standalone futuristic fantasy, North and the Only One, is nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2025.

Vashti also writes books for younger readers and dyslexia-friendly titles for Barrington Stoke.

Vashti lives in West Sussex.

VASHTI’S BOOKS

The Relic Hunters: The Clockwork Key, Barrington Stoke, 2024; North and The Only One, Scholastic, 2024; Harley Hitch Takes Flight, Scholastic, 2024; Serpent of the Sands, Scholastic, 2023; Harley Hitch & The Fossil Mystery, Scholastic, 2023; Firesong, Scholastic, 2022; Harley Hitch & the Missing Moon, Scholastic, 2022; The Puffin Portal (illus by Natalie Smillie), Barrington Stoke, 2021; Crowfall, Scholastic, 2021; Harley Hitch and the Iron Forest (illus by George Ermos), Scholastic, 2021; The Griffin Gate (illus by Natalie Smillie), Barrington Stoke, 2020; Darkwhispers, Scholastic, 2020; Wildspark, Scholastic, 2019; Brightstorm, Scholastic, 2018.

REVIEWERS

“A pacy tale of lies and greed versus loyalty.”

Observer

“A real edge-of-your-seat romp.”

BookTrust

“A terrific adventure.”

M.G. Leonard

Latest Book

THE WRITER WHO MOST INSPIRED VASHTI

Terry Nation – author of Rebecca’s World and creator of the Daleks in Dr Who. Rebecca’s World was the book that changed everything for me when I was seven years old. It sparked my love of story and world-building and made me see that with imagination, anything is possible.

HOW VASHTI BECAME KATE’S CLIENT

Kate was introduced to me via the brilliant Imogen Cooper of Golden Egg Academy, who thought we would click and work well together. How right she was!

VASHTI ABOUT KATE

I hand-on-heart couldn’t have hoped for a more wonderful, efficient, knowledgeable, kind and all-round superb agent.

KATE ABOUT VASHTI

I thank my lucky stars the day Vashti chose me as her agent. She has a brilliant, wild imagination and I feel immensely privileged to get to explore it with her. She’s also an incredibly lovely, generous and hardworking woman.