Book review: Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest

Published on Saturday 7 November 2009 10:52

Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest by Janis Mackay is published by Floris Books, priced £5.99

Janis Mackay has been at the centre of a whirlwind of activity since it was revealed that her debut children's novel, Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest, had won the Kelpies Prize 2009 – and it is only set to intensify as the book hits shop shelves.

The announcement was made at an awards ceremony at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

Mackay, 50, said: "I have wanted to be a writer since I was five. I have taken a long way round – via journalism, acting, storytelling, teaching – but not long ago I threw my bottle out to sea. The Kelpies Prize is a lovely answer."

A day later, Mackay, who regularly performs at the Capital's Scottish Storytelling Centre, was thrown into life as a published author with a full redraft of her book due to her editor just two weeks later.

She said: "I had a residential storytelling course to teach and things were very hectic, but working with Sally, my editor, was a great experience. All the best ideas were hers!"

Edinburgh-born storyteller Janis was inspired to write an underwater adventure by the unusual items she found washed up on the beach near her seaside home in Caithness.

"A little carved wooden horse all the way from Prague, a lifebuoy from Norway and half a rusted bell from a sunken ship," she said. "That really fired up my imagination. It gave me a glimpse into a hidden world – so I started wondering what else is down there?"

The adventure pits Magnus Fin, misfit schoolboy and half selkie – part seal, part human – against the fearsome monsters of the deep to save the sea.

Janis credits many people with helping her write the book, including an anonymous reader from the Hi-Arts work-in-progress critique service. "I was given some invaluable advice to make it 40,000 words – it was 17,000 at the time – and send it off to the Kelpies Prize. I'm so glad I did."