BAAS member Sarah Layzell’s debut children’s novel Cottonopolis has now been published by Northodox Press, publishers of fiction from authors born in or currently living in the North of England. Cottonopolis is an LGBTQ+ middle grade story set in 1840s Manchester, mixing social history with a magical story of friendship and first love, hope and resilience. Among other topics including Irish migration, child labour and the workhouse system, the book addresses the historical relationship between Manchester, the cotton trade and enslavement in the United States. This book will be useful as a resource or class reader for anyone teaching the Industrial Revolution in schools, especially with an American Studies focus, as well as for those generally interested in children’s literature, historical fiction, Northern fiction and LGBTQ+ fiction.