Neil Gaiman is releasing a new book based on a story he wrote on “a scrap of paper” over a decade ago.

Pirate Stew sees the author team up again with illustrator Chris Riddell. They previously worked on The Graveyard Book where Riddell had illustrated the British children’s edition.

“Pirate Stew began in early 2009, when I scribbled a handful of lines of a poem about the sorts of ingredients that would go into a Pirate Stew down on a scrap of paper,” said Gaiman.

“I kept the scrap of paper in my wallet as the years went by, and would look at it and feel guilty. And then my son was two, and I thought I should write a book I can read to him when he’s older. I remembered the scrap of paper, and knew that it was time to tell that story.”

The tale follows a boy and his sister who embark on “a riotous adventure beneath a pirate moon” with one Long John McRon, “Ship’s Cook … and the most unusual babysitter you’ve ever seen”.

Pirate Stew is due to be released on 1st October.