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Following on from the success of the Roald Dahl Dictionary, Oxford University Press (OUP) will publish two more books about Dahl’s words in 2019.
Roald Dahl’s Rotsome and Repulsant Words will reveal Dahl’s most “mischievous” language and teach children how to curse like a giant or insult like Miss Trunchbull says OUP, whilst the Oxford Roald Dahl Thesaurus will help readers enrich their language using examples from Dahl’s stories.
Director of publishing operations at OUP Helen Freeman struck a deal for world English rights for both books with Anthony Goff at David Higham, who was acting on behalf of the Roald Dahl Story Company. Both books will be compiled by lexicographer Dr Susan Rennie, who created the Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary, first published in 2016 to mark the centenary of Dahl’s birth.
Roald Dahl’s Rotsome and Repulsant Words will be illustrated in black and white with Quentin Blake illustrations and published in paperback in March 2019, priced at £5.99. The Oxford Roald Dahl Thesaurus will be released in hardback in September 2019 at £14.99.
Freeman said: “Children will love foxing grown-ups with Roald Dahl’s anarchic words, while discovering etymologies, definitions, and fascinating language facts along the way. OUP’s ongoing research into children’s language shows the incredible influence Roald Dahl continues to have on children’s vocabulary and writing and we couldn’t be more excited to publish this splendiferous book with the Roald Dahl Story Company.”
The Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary has sold 28,342 copies for £283,349 in the UK, according to Nielsen BookScan.