1--What is the title of your latest release?
I AM THE SWARM
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
I AM THE SWARM follows Nell, a girl from a family of magical women, whose emotions start to manifest as insects when she turns fifteen.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I didn’t decide, exactly. The book had to take place in Cape Town. The story always felt inextricable from its setting.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Definitely.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Sensitive. Strong. Vulnerable.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That the most productive way for me to plot a book is to listen for which scene comes next, instead of trying to outline in advance. That I’m braver than I thought I was. And that there’s a difference between cement and mortar.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I like to leave the editing for after I have a draft. It allows me to explore, be messy, and make mistakes during the drafting process.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
At the moment I’m really into a locally made Greek yoghurt called The Gourmet Greek. It’s so rich and creamy and decadent!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I don’t have one at the moment, so I write anywhere and everywhere: at the kitchen table, at coffee shops, on the couch…
10--Who is an author you admire?
Elizabeth Strout.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
FINDING YOUR OWN NORTH STAR by Martha Beck
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
In my case, it was an email from my agent and the subject line read: GOOD NEWS!!!!!! It was a great moment.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Contemporary literary fiction, and exquisitely written memoir.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Amélie.
15--What is your favorite season?
Spring.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Going to the bookshop and buying myself an armful of books. And eating cake, of course.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I loved The Bear, and Normal People, and Pachinko. My favorite podcast is What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel. The last book I loved was Long Island by Colm Tóibín. Movie-wise, I recently loved My Old Ass (2024).
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Read, walk with friends, write songs, and hang out with my husband and daughter.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m hoping I’ll be able to talk about my new middle grade fantasy soon!
A propulsive YA novel in verse that blends the contemporary magic of Jandy Nelson with the simmering feminist rage of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Shout
As far back as anyone can remember, the women of the Strand family have been magical.
Their gifts manifest when they each turn fifteen, always in different ways. But Nell Strand knows that her family's magic is a curse. Her mother’s age changes every day; she's often too young to be the mother Nell needs. Her older sister bleeds music and will do anything to release the songs inside her. Nell sees the way magic rips her family apart again and again.
When Nell’s own magic arrives in the form of ladybugs alighting on the keys of her beloved piano, the first thing she feels is joy. The ladybugs are a piece of her, a harmless and delicate manifestation of her creativity. But soon enough, the rest come. Thick-shelled glossy beetles that creep along her collarbone when her piano teacher stares at her. Soft gray moths that appear and die alongside a rush of disappointment. Worst of all are the wasps. It doesn’t matter how deep she buries her rage, the wasps always come. Nell will have to decide just how much of herself she’s willing to lock away to stop them—or if she can find the strength to feel, no matter the consequences.
An intense, emotional read simmering with rage and magic, I Am the Swarm is a captivating YA novel in verse that beautifully speaks to the complicated nature of growing up as a girl.
Fantasy Magical Realism | Young Adult [Viking Books for Young Readers, On Sale: March 25, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593623862 / eISBN: 9780593623879]
Hayley Chewins is an award-winning author of middle grade fantasy and a published poet. Her debut novel, THE TURNAWAY GIRLS (Candlewick, 2018), received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 as well as a 2019 Amelia Bloomer List pick. Her second novel, THE SISTERS OF STRAYGARDEN PLACE (Candlewick, 2020), also received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, and was chosen as the 2020 Foreword Indies Gold Winner for Juvenile Fiction and an Amazon Best Book of the Month. Hayley is also the author of LOKI: SEASON ONE NOVEL (Marvel Press, 2023), a middle grade novelization of Marvel's LOKI television show starring Tom Hiddleston. Her YA debut, I AM THE SWARM, is forthcoming from Viking Children's Books in March 2025. Hayley lives with her family in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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