Product Description
Fia and the Last Snow Deer
Author: Eilish Fisher • Illustrator: Dermot Flynn
Format: Paperback
Recommended for ages 9+
Wainwright Prize 2025
The Week Junior Book Awards 2025
**WINNER Children's Book of the Year Senior, Irish Book Awards 2024**
**WINNER Book of the Year, Children's Books Ireland Awards 2025**
**WINNER Ellis Dillon Debut Award **
**WINNER Children's Book of the Year: Poetry, The Week Junior Book Awards 2025**
**LONGLISTED for Carnegie Medal for Writing 2026**
**LONGLISTED for Carnegie Medal for Illustrations 2026**
Fia and her snow deer Solas have always had a powerful and unbreakable connection. But as Fia's village face a seemingly eternal winter, they turn their sights to Solas and an ancient prophecy that promises the return of sunlight and life, if the ultimate sacrifice is made . . .
Refusing to allow the worst to happen, Fia and her cousin Mish run from the village with Solas, seeking out the Deer Mother - the mythical being who wakes the sun at the winter solstice and who might be their only hope.
But the wilderness is harsh and shadows lurk at every turn. Can they make it to the Deer Mother? And, if they do, what choices will Fia face to bring back the sun and save her village?
A powerful and beautiful tale set in snowy pre-historic Ireland, about hope, kindness and the power of friendship, from exceptional new writing talent, Eilish Fisher, brought to life with stunning illustrations from Dermot Flynn.
Praise for Fia and the Last Snow Deer
'Tender, hopeful and thrillingly wild' — Abi Elphinstone, bestselling author of Sky Song
'A beautiful, lyrical read full of love, hardship and hope . . . I cannot recommend this book highly enough.' — Reading Zone, five star review
'Visually delicious and lyrically lovely' — Oliver Callen, RTÉ Radio One
'A stunning debut, which should become a classic, with immediate appeal for fans of writers like Michelle Paver and Abi Elphinstone.' — The Irish Times
'An otherworldly debut' — Image Magazine
'Writing and illustration of equal beauty' Sara Keating, Best Books of 2024 selection, The Irish Times
About the Author
Eilish Fisher lives in the mountains of County Wicklow with her partner and son. She has a masters degree in early medieval Irish history and literature and a doctorate in medieval English literature from Maynooth University. Eilish’s poetry has been published in a range of magazines and journals and her debut novel, Fia and the Last Snow Deer, published by Puffin, Uk, has been awarded and shortlisted for multiple awards, including the An Post Children’s Book of the year, Senior Category 2024, the Eilís Dillon Award and the overall KPMG Book of the Year awards at the 2025 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards. Eilish has received a Laureate na nóg mentorship from Children’s Books Ireland, a Word’s Ireland mentorship, and a full Literary Bursary Award from the Irish Arts Council.
About the Illustrator
Dermot is originally from Ireland, where he studied at Dublin's NCAD. En route to London, he completed his MA at the University of Brighton. He now teaches and works as a freelance illustrator for clients such as Publicis, Target USA, the Guardian, the Irish Times, Carton LeVert, McCann Erickson, DDB, Dentsu, 180 Amsterdam and Adidas. In his spare time he plays the cello, cycles and skates around London, and writes letters to Ken Livingstone about the appalling no.15 bus from Aldgate to Regent Street.
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