Little Island have acquired the YA debut Shorelines by Ruth Ennis
Ruth Ennis has landed a publishing deal with Little Island for her debut YA book Shorelines.
Shorelines takes The Little Mermaid as a touchstone to dissect questions of contemporary beauty standards, toxic power, and the environment through the lens of one of the world’s most beloved fairytales.
World rights in all languages were acquired by publisher Matthew Parkinson-Bennett from agent Alice Williams at Alice Williams Literary. Shorelines will be Little Island’s YA lead for spring 2026, and continues the Irish indie’s work at the forefront of novels-in-verse for young adults, which includes the 2025 Carnegie-longlisted Trigger by CG Moore, Solo by Gráinne O’Brien (2025), and Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan, a 2022 Kirkus Book of the Year.
Ruth Ennis is a poet and verse-novelist from Kildare and a well-known advocate for Irish children’s books. She has an MPhil in Children’s Literature from Trinity College Dublin and works as a Book Doctor with Children’s Books Ireland and reviews children’s books for Inis Magazine and Books Ireland. She is published in The Irish Writer’s Handbook (Books Ireland) and I Am The Wind: Irish Poems for Children Everywhere (Little Island). She has been awarded a Literature Bursary and an Agility Award by The Arts Council of Ireland.
Little Island’s Parkinson-Bennett said that Ruth has been a talent on their radar for some time. ‘When we read Shorelines we instantly knew it was a perfect fit for the Little Island YA list, which is all about superb, unflinching writing, innovative forms, cutting-edge social themes and Irish writing that can sell in an international context. Ruth has done something really new with this well-loved fairytale: found a fresh perspective that makes it relevant again to young readers today.’
Ruth Ennis said that she has always loved mermaids and the sea. ‘Verse novels are very dear to me. It’s the greatest joy to bring these two parts of my heart together to create this story. It means the world to me that the team at Little Island, the home to so many books I’ve adored reading, are so passionate about Shorelines, and I’m delighted to be working with them. I hope readers resonate with what they find in these pages.’
Shorelines will be published by Little Island in February 2026.
