Recent Deals

CLEOPATRA and THE QUEEN OF SHEBA by Saara El-Arifi to Suzie Doore at The Borough Press (UK/Comm) and Tricia Narwani at Ballantine (NA). A retelling of the story of Egypt's most famous queen, opening at the moment she discovers that her father has died and she is Pharaoh.

BROKEN GHOSTS by James Oswald to Alex Clarke and Jack Butler at Wildfire (UK/Comm). A ghost story following a 12-year-old newcomer to the Welsh countryside, as she stumbles on a long-held mystery buried deep in the heart of the woods surrounding the community.

BITTER SWEET by Hattie Williams to Charlotte Mursell at Orion (UK/Comm) and Caroline Weishuhn at Ballantine (NA). A coming-of-age novel pitched for readers of Coco Mellors and Meg Mason, exploring how an affair with a very powerful (and very married) older author shapes a young book publicist's life as she tries to navigate her career, her relationships, and her mental health.

Pim Wangtechawat's THE MOON REPRESENTS MY HEART, following the generations of a British Chinese family of time travelers and what happens when two siblings' parents time-travel and never return, to Juliet Mabey at Oneworld, in a two-book deal, for publication in March 2023, by Liza DeBlock at Mushens Entertainment. Rights also to Keller Editore (Italy), by Erica Berla at Berla & Griffini, on behalf of Liza DeBlock.

Fleet has acquired A WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE KITCHEN by award-winning chef Sally Abé, which follows the story of her rise to be an award-winning chef in the brutal world of restaurant kitchens. Senior Editor Amy Perkins bought UK and Commonwealth (ex Canada) rights from Liza DeBlock at Mushens Entertainment, in an exclusive submission.

HQ acquired THE REVELS by Stacey Thomas - a debut historical fiction with a fantastical twist that follows a young man during the British Civil War who is apprenticed to an infamous witch-hunter, when he himself is hiding his true identity as a witch. Senior Commissioning Editor, Katie Seaman, bought UK and Commonwealth (ex Canada) rights from Liza DeBlock.

UK/Commonwealth rights to REMEMBER, REMEMBER by Elle Machray sold to Daisy Watt at Harper North in a pre-empt after submission of a partial manuscript, for publication as a lead title in 2024. With shades of The Underground Railroad and The Confessions of Frannie Langton, REMEMBER, REMEMBER is a page-turning alternative history debut set in Georgian London, reimagining the gunpowder plot as a slave uprising designed to strike at the heart of the British Empire.

Following multiple competitive pre-emptive offers, UK/Comm rights to SPITTING GOLD by Carmella Lowkis have sold to Charlotte Trumble at Doubleday in a substantial six-figure, two-book deal. Historical fiction, set in 19th-century Paris, SPITTING GOLD follows two estranged sisters who earning a living holding fake séances. When the sisters reunite for one last con, things go horribly wrong, and one of them ends up on trial for murder. The novel will be published as a major debut in 2024 for Doubleday. North American rights subsequently sold to Loan Le at Atria in a healthy six-figure, two book deal. 

After turning down two pre-empt attempts, UNDERWATER by Fiona McPhillips was successfully pre-empted by Imogen Nelson at Transworld in a healthy six-figure deal, for publication as a lead title in 2024. This reading group thriller, for fans of Girl A, My Dark Vanessa and Megan Abbott, follows Louise Manson – the new girl at an exclusive private school in 80s Dublin. The novel intersperses Lou’s experience as a teenager in 1987, when she uncovers a terrible secret at the heart of Highfield Manor, and her life as an adult in 2018, when an allegation of abuse at her old school forces her to reckon with her past. North American rights were successfully pre-empted by Christine Kopprasch at Flatiron for a significant six-figure sum.