Little Island Signs New Spin on the Little Mermaid From Debut Irish YA Verse Novelist
Little Island Books announce the acquisition of Shorelines by Ruth Ennis, a YA debut which uses The Little Mermaid to dissect questions of contemporary beauty standards. 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.
About Shorelines
Deeply compelling and hauntingly beautiful, Shorelines is an exploration of beauty standards, toxic power and the environment through the lens of one of the world’s most well-loved fairytales, The Little Mermaid.
Muireann is a mermaid, proud of her fat body that keeps her warm and safe in her home underwater. The merfolk are facing difficulties and are at war with the human ramifications of climate change: there is no longer any food for them to eat, and Muireann’s twin sister was tragically killed after she was caught by a mass fishing net. With her mother consumed by grief and her world falling apart, Muireann longs to escape to the shores of the prince she saved from drowning. But the human world is full of cruelty, and nothing like she imagined. And there, fatness is not perceived as a thing of beauty.
Told in continuous verse, Shorelines holds a mirror to society we live in today, as well as exploring the complexities of grief, self-image and love.
About Ruth Ennis
Ruth Ennis is a poet and verse-novelist from Kildare, Ireland. She has an MPhil in Children’s Literature from Trinity College Dublin and is usually found giving book recommendations or working with books in some capacity. She works as a Book Doctor with Children’s Books Ireland and reviews children’s books for Inis Magazine and Books Ireland. She is previously 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 says:
“Ruth is a talent we’ve had on our radar for some time and 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 adds:
“I’ve 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
For rights enquiries, please contact: rights@littleisland.ie
