The Danger of Small Things: WINNER of the Children's Wainwright Prize for Fiction
Caryl Lewis
Mar 2026 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Laoise Sweeney
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9 hr 19 min
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WINNER OF THE 2026 CHILDREN’S WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE UKLA BOOK AWARDS 2027 (11-14 CATEGORY)
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now in this startling dystopian YA, described by the author as a love letter to her daughter.
In a world where bees are at risk of extinction, one girl fights for her own survival.
Imagine a world where honeybees have died out. It’s a patriarchal world where famines are rife. It’s a world without art, without books, without plays. Girls are sent away from home, forced to pollinate crops by hand with brushes and to marry as soon as they can. Inhabiting this world is Jess and her friends Cass, Deva and Ruth. But even if one fourteen-year-old knows that the system is dangerous, can she really stoke a revolution?
Caryl Lewis said: ‘As a beekeeper, I am acutely aware of the interconnectedness of everything and have long been frightened of how we, as humans, set ourselves apart from nature. We do not seem to understand that in destroying nature, we destroy ourselves. My daughter is growing up in what feels like a much more hostile environment facing climate instability, the rise of misogyny and the roll back of women’s bodily rights. I wanted to comfort and empower her and let her see that our greatest weapon in a floundering world is the imagination.’
LONGLISTED FOR THE UKLA BOOK AWARDS 2027 (11-14 CATEGORY)
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now in this startling dystopian YA, described by the author as a love letter to her daughter.
In a world where bees are at risk of extinction, one girl fights for her own survival.
Imagine a world where honeybees have died out. It’s a patriarchal world where famines are rife. It’s a world without art, without books, without plays. Girls are sent away from home, forced to pollinate crops by hand with brushes and to marry as soon as they can. Inhabiting this world is Jess and her friends Cass, Deva and Ruth. But even if one fourteen-year-old knows that the system is dangerous, can she really stoke a revolution?
- Incredible new voice in YA literature from a recognisable Welsh adult author.
- Strong environmental message – it has been predicted that if honeybees were to become extinct, humankind would have only four years to live. Hand pollination is already practiced in China, as an estimated 80% of China’s native wild honeybee population has already been lost.
- Empowering female friendships.
Caryl Lewis said: ‘As a beekeeper, I am acutely aware of the interconnectedness of everything and have long been frightened of how we, as humans, set ourselves apart from nature. We do not seem to understand that in destroying nature, we destroy ourselves. My daughter is growing up in what feels like a much more hostile environment facing climate instability, the rise of misogyny and the roll back of women’s bodily rights. I wanted to comfort and empower her and let her see that our greatest weapon in a floundering world is the imagination.’
WINNER OF THE 2026 CHILDREN’S WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE UKLA BOOK AWARDS 2027 (11-14 CATEGORY)
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now in this startling dystopian YA, described by the author as a love letter to her daughter.
In a world where bees are at risk...
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About the author
Caryl Lewis is an award-winning Welsh novelist, children’s writer, playwright, and screenwriter. Her breakthrough novel, Martha, Jac a Sianco, is widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature and sits on the Welsh curriculum. The film adaptation (with a screenplay by Caryl) won six Welsh BAFTAs and the Spirit of the Festival Award at the Celtic Media Festival. Caryl’s other screenwriting work includes BBC/S4C thrillers Hinterland and Hidden, and she’s also the author of The Danger of Small Things. She is a visiting lecturer in creative writing at Cardiff University and lives with her family on a farm near Aberystwyth.
Caryl Lewis is an award-winning Welsh novelist, children’s writer, playwright, and screenwriter. Her breakthrough novel, Martha, Jac a Sianco, is widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature and sits on the Welsh curriculum. The film adaptation (with a screenplay by Caryl) won six Wels...
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