Me and super Dotty Sutton are doing an online chat, Q&A and draw-along for UK primary schools next Thursday morning, and it's completely free! If you're involved with a school and fancy signing up, find Rebel Reading Society on Instagram and drop them a DM to register. 😊 #TheNotwitches
The Notwitches by Gary Panton Melanda runs away from her horrid auntd and has increasingly surreal chats with the monsters, gnomes and mermaids she meets in this "cheeky, refreshing" tale. "A triumph of nonsense", it has "an old-fashioned dose of innocence." (Ages 7-11, Chicken House, 304pp, £7.99)
Thanks to The Week magazine for including this lovely little write-up for #TheNotwitches in their latest issue. Thanks also to @krahim.bsky.social for sending me this pic! (And of course I need to make the obligatory mention of the fact that The Notwitches 2 is out NEXT WEEK! 🥳).
Massive thanks to Anna Bonet at The I Paper for including #TheNotwitches in this list of summer reads for kids. It's been so lovely to see reviewers embrace the book's silliness (which very much continues in the upcoming sequel, in case you're wondering!).
If you're around the St Andrews area on 23rd August, come along to this and say hello to me and Dotty! #TheNotwitches
LEGO Notwitches minifigures: a witch with purple hair, a black cat with orange eyes and a little girl with a pink jumper and a rabbit toy.
Set myself a little challenge of trying to make #TheNotwitches characters out of LEGO and I'm very pleased with the results if I do say so myself. All based on the brilliant character designs of Dotty Sutton.
Still a few days left to win a copy of #TheNotwitches signed by me and Dotty Sutton - details below! 👇
Free event - MEET THE AUTHOR - Saturday 19th April, 11.00-12.00 @ Waterstones Perth. Join children's author Gary Panton for a morning of reading, colouring and interactive fun, plus a signing of his new book, The Notwitches.
Tiny reminder for any Perth peeps out there that I'm doing a free event at Waterstones this Saturday morning at 11am. Bring your kids (or even just yourself) along for some reading, colouring and interactive fun. I'll also sign copies of #TheNotwitches and do a Q&A. Hopefully see some of you there!
Me with my signed books in Foyles.
London friends: signed copies of #TheNotwitches are now on sale in Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town, Foyles Charing Cross, Daunts Marylebone and Waterstones Piccadilly and Charing Cross. I know they're there because I just spent a very fun afternoon signing them.
A copy of The Notwitches, written by me and illustrated by Dotty Sutton.
I have one spare copy of #TheNotwitches signed by me and Dotty Sutton, and I'd like to give it away to one of my followers on here. If you want it, just like this post by the end of 6th April and I'll randomly choose someone to send it to (UK-based only I'm afraid). Any reposts appreciated too. 🧙♀️🧡
Screengrab from the Booktrust's X page, says: Our #BookOfTheDay is a hugely entertaining tale that mixes magic and surprises with moments of friendship, kindness and joy. It's #TheNotwitches from Gary Panton and Dotty Sutton.
Woot woot! #TheNotwitches is @booktrust.org.uk's Book of the Day. And if you can't trust a trust, then who can you trust, right?
Me, reading The Notwitches while dressed as a massive witch. Yeah that's right drink it in.
#TheNotwitches has been out for A WHOLE MONTH and I want to say a big mooshy thank you to everyone who has read it and said nice things about it. It's honestly meant the blimmin' world to me. If you've enjoyed it please do remember to leave a review on Amazon/Goodreads/wherever. It really helps! 🧙♀️
A pile of copies of The Notwitches on a table.
First ever live event for #TheNotwitches is in the bag. Well and truly in at the deep end in front of a few hundred kids on World Book Day. Absolutely terrifying but SO. MUCH. FUN. If needed, I will now be asleep for the rest of the day.
Me clutching a copy of The Notwitches in Perth Waterstones.
Quick shameless plug just to say that signed copies of #TheNotwitches are now available at Waterstones in Perth, Stirling & Edinburgh Princes Street, plus Edinburgh indies Toppings, Portobello Books, Golden Hare Books & the Edinburgh Book Shop. Here's my cheesy grin after signing a bundle in Perth.
The Notwitches book cover, with an 'Out Now' flash.
Oh this is a great idea. I'm Gary Panton, author of #TheNotwitches, a comedy adventure series for kids. Book 1 is out now, with Book 2 on the way! #writersliftwednesday
A really lovely blog post here from @arenaillustration.bsky.social about wonderful Dotty Sutton and the massive role she played in creating the visuals and character design of #TheNotwitches. Dotty's funny, playful, spooky art is just a perfect match for the world I wanted to create with the book.
A picture of The Notwitches book cover, with an 'OUT NOW' flash.
And #TheNotwitches is out in the world ... NOW. It's the best thing I've ever done and I can't wait for people to see it. You can find all the order links at garypanton.co.uk/books/ - but please do consider buying from a local independent book shop if you have one. I hope it makes you all smile!😊
#TheNotwitches comes out tomorrow (hooray!) so I thought I'd give this a go tonight. Hit me up with any questions you'd like to ask about the book or anything else, and I'll pop back on later to answer anything that gets sent in.
ngl.link/garypanton
VERY excited to be part of #TheNotWitches blog tour! (Apologies for the delay!)
This book has EVERYTHING…courageous hero, ghastly villains, adventure, bravery, magic, friendship and humour. When I read it I was a kid again (it’s exactly what I would have read as a child!) - was completely…
Notwitches blog tour running from today until Friday. Monday: Get Kids Into Books Tuesday: Katy's Book Shelf and Kids Story World Wednesday: What I Read and Book Craic Thursday: My Shelves Are Full and My Book Corner Friday: Scope For Imagination
#TheNotwitches is going on tour! And the best bit is it's a blog tour so I don't have to leave my house or do anything. Look out for some (hopefully nice) reviews from all of these lovely social accounts over the coming days. 😊
A big box full of cheese.
Mega-thanks to the lovely people at @chickenhousebooks.bsky.social for marking the upcoming release of #TheNotwitches by bestowing upon me the gift of cheese! It will be a highly cheesy weekend round my place: that much I can promise.
I’m utterly hooked! 🧙♀️😍🧙♀️ I feel 8 years old again - with a great book I can’t put down. It’s funny, it’s moving, the characters have strong voices… #TheNotWitches is a magically marvellous debut for @garypanton.bsky.social with spellbinding illustrations by Dotty Sutton.
Ages: 7-11
Out: 13th Feb 🥳
Back from a weekend away to this #bookpost bonanza!
For starters...
Thank you @Usborne for #JennyPearson #ShrapnelBoys & @GMcCaughrean #UnderAFireRedSky
@barringtonstoke for @thelucystrange #TheBoyAtTheWindow @DanSmithAuthor #DeadsoulProject
& #chickenhousebooks for Gary Panton #TheNotwitches
This zippy fable is a triumph of nonsense. By Lucy Bannerman This is fun. The biggest compliment l can give The Notwitches is that it feel s like a book children will actually like, and not the kind of book adults desperately want them to like. Is there a plot? Barely. Is it profound? Not at all. It is concerned with much more important things, like hairy motorcycle gangs and jokes about eating stationery. Melanda is an unhappy child "in a very unfortunate situation". She has not one, not two, but three horrid aunts. Think Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker from James and the Giant Peach, plus another: "Aunt Thumb, whose bright and baggy clothing might have suggested she was someone with a warmer personality were it not for the fact she had stolen it all from some tents at a music festival." When her grotesque Aunt Claggy isn't eating all the paper, Melanda loves to write scary stories, such as the one about the Crunchy Man who is 209 years old, "has way too many pairs of knees" and wears "scuffed ghost-skin boots that he stole from a haunted fairground". One day, an older girl knocks at the door. She is an endearingly unconvincing witch, wearing a rubbish plastic nose and carrying not so much a broomstick as a broom handle. In July. But her dubious plea to "join the witches" convinces Melanda to run away from home and they begin an adventure that revolves almost entirely round the increasingly silly and surreal conversations with the gnomes, mermaids and sleepy rock monsters they meet along the way. l say mermaids ... these ones are reversed: "Top half of fish . Bottom half of a lady". They run around, "sounding their siren call, 'HIYA!'" The dialogue feels indebted to the surrealist humour of Blackadder or Monty Python's Flying Circus, and the short, funny chapters zip along, making it a good option for youngsters who are still building confidence as independent readers. I can imagine some grown-ups may also enjoy reading this one out loud.
I'm absolutely over the moon to say that #TheNotwitches is The Times' Children's Book of the Week. Huge thanks to @timeslucy.bsky.social for giving it such a lovely review.
The screengrab says: Oh. My. Goodness! I've just galloped through this fantastic book! Gary Panton and Dotty Sutton must be so proud. If you have a child who loves a book with a funny but qlso big hearted plot, maybe some madcap characters and slapstick - but all played...
... straight then this is for you. The illustrations are absolutely brilliant, adding an extra layer of depth and humour. It's out on February 13th. So, if you want to come along with Melanda Notwitch, meet her disgusting, revolting aunts and discover the truth then do make sure you order a copy! This is for children 7yrs and upwards who are perhaps fans of Roald Dahl. Published by Chicken House.
Possibly not the done thing to post screengrabs from X on here but I couldn't resist sharing this wonderful review of #TheNotwitches from the lovely people at @telltales.bsky.social
A copy of The Notwitches by Gary Panton (me!) sticking out of a brown envelope.
My first advance copy of #TheNotwitches just arrived in the post and it suddenly all feels wonderfully, wonderfully real.
The Notwitches - not for the faint-hearted. Out 13th Feb 2025 from Chicken House.
Hello! My middle-grade debut, #TheNotwitches, is out in February and I can't wait for people to find out how silly and fun and not-at-all-witchy it is. 😊
The Notwitches author Gary Panton and illustrator Dotty Sutton.
Melanda Notwitch, as drawn by Dotty Sutton.
Introducing Team Notwitches: me and the brilliant illustrator Dotty Sutton. Pic 2 is of the book's hero, Melanda, which Dotty drew live on stage yesterday while I read from the book for the first time. I cannot wait for you all to meet #TheNotwitches.
Lanyard featuring the cover of my book, The Notwitches.
Exciting new addition to my lanyard collection today. 😍 #TheNotwitches
Tomorrow I'm doing my first ever reading from #TheNotwitches in front of actual people, so I would very much appreciate your thoughts and prayers. 🙏
