Book excerpt: Being BAD has never felt so GOOD! The second book in the villainously funny, highly illustrated young middle-grade series from author-illustrator Ryan Hammond. For fans of Amelia Fang, Dog Man and Grimwood. Don’t miss the third installment, How to Win the Gruesome Games, out in April 2024! ‘A charmingly villainous adventure about friendship, school and unspeakable evil.’ Louie Stowell, author of Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good ‘Criminally fun!’ Danny Wallace, author of The Day the Screens Went Blank It’s the start of the winter term and there’s a new teacher in town at Villains Academy – the notorious dragon-rider Felix Frostbite. Class Z are in awe of him and his lessons on venomous beasts and mythical creatures, but werewolf Bram is suspicious. Soon Bram and his friends the Cereal Killers uncover Felix Frostbite’s evil plan to steal all the dragons from the Wicked Woods and leave Villains Academy undefended. Have the gang learnt enough to outsmart their troublesome teacher, or will Felix Frostbite’s heist go down in villain history? PRAISE FOR VILLAINS ACADEMY: ‘Frightfully fun – Villains Academy had me cackling from the very first page!’ Katie Tsang, co-author of the Dragon Realm series ‘I loved the spookily funny Villains Academy. It's a work of (evil) genius!’ Jenny McLachlan, author of The Land of Roar ‘Heart-warming and hilarious – Villains Academy is a spookalicious treat, set to terrify every other book on your shelf.’ Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of The Beast and the Bethany ‘An absolute HOOT! Evil laughs aplenty!’ Sophy Henn, author and illustrator of the Pizazz series ‘A joyful hug of a book with genuine warmth and heart.’ Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear ‘A delightfully fun adventure with real heart and humour.’ Benjamin Dean, author of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow ‘Immersive, funny, and with a cast of scarily loveable characters, Villains Academy made me feel like I was IN the book!’ Mel Taylor-Bessent, author of The Christmas Carrolls ‘A fabulously funny adventure. I want to enrol in Villains Academy!’ Nick Sheridan, author of The Case of the Runaway Brain ‘Wickedly funny and full of quirky yet loveable characters.’ Iona Rangeley, author of Einstein the Penguin ‘This is a brilliant, bonkers work packed with top-notch illustration.’ Jack Noel, author and illustrator of the Comic Classics series ‘Full of wonderful characters, Villains Academy is such a FUN read!’ Rikin Parekh, illustrator of The Worst Class in the World series