NEWS


London Book Fair 2019 The headlines


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Amazon doubles up for Lake Union imprint Amazon Publishing imprint Lake Union editor Sammia Hamer has struck two two-book deals, securing world English-language rights for suspense author Tracy Buchanan’s The Weight of Silence and The Woman in the Woods from Caroline Hardman at Hardman & Swainson, and world English-language, German, Spanish, French and Italian rights to comic novelist Nick Spalding’s Logging Off, and an untitled follow-up, from Jon Elek at United Agents.


Film firm See-Saw swings in for Scarlett’s letters See-Saw Films has bagged the TV rights to Scarlett Thomas’ Oligarchy in a “hotly contested” auction held by Curtis Brown’s Luke Speed. The novel follows the daughter of a Russian oligarch after her friend mysteri- ously vanishes at the English boarding school they attend. Canongate acquired world rights earlier this year from Curtis Brown’s Cathryn Summerhayes, and will publish as a fiction lead in November. See-Saw’s credits include “The King’s Speech”.


Sarah Winman moves to Fourth Estate


Moving house


Sarah Winman has been poached from Headline: her new novel, about a


young British soldier who inherits the top two floors of an old palazzo, will be published by Fourth Estate. Publishing director Helen Garnons- Williams acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Robert Caskie at Caskie Mushens in a two-book deal. Winman’s three previous novels, When God Was a Rabbit, A Year of Marvellous Ways and Tin Man were all published in the UK by Headline. Her new novel, currently untitled, is “set across four decades until the early 1980s... It is the story of people brought together by love, war, art, flood—and the ghost of E M Forster,” Fourth Estate said. The HarperCollins imprint will publish the novel as its lead fiction title in hardback in spring 2021. “Sarah is one of the finest literary novelists writing today and we could not be more delighted to welcome her to Fourth Estate,”


Garnons-Williams said. “She is a writer of remarkable insight, gener- osit, wit and empathy, and through her beautifully craſted novels we see the world with fresh eyes.” Winman said: “Everyone at


SARAH WINMAN HAS MOVED FROM HEADLINE TO HC LIST FOURTH ESTATE


Fourth Estate has been so generous in their welcome which, of course, makes this transition easier. I have long been an admirer of Helen’s work and her abilit to bring out the best in a writer. To be working with her on my new book is incredibly exciting. I value the opportunit.” The author grew up in Essex and lives in London. She atended the Weber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to act in theatre, film and TV. Her début, When God Was a Rabbit, has sold more than 350,000 units in the UK across print editions. Winman’s most recent novel, Tin Man, was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award in 2018. Her three books have collectively earned just over £2.7m through Nielsen BookScan UK. Reporting Heloise Wood


Te Miller’s tale


Début Holly Miller’s début The Sight of You has


been sold into nine international territories by Hodder in the run-up to LBF, including “signifi- cant” deals in the US (Putnam) and Germany (Blanvalet), the latter after an 11-way auction. The title is a “high-concept love story, a cross between Me Before You and The Time Traveler’s Wife”. Hodder pre-empted world rights to the novel in a two-book deal, signed with A M Heath’s Rebecca Ritchie.


Andersen fastens on Sally Nicholls’ Button Book World rights for Sally Nicholls’ The Button Book have been bought by Andersen Press, which has in turn sold the book into eight territories, including the US and China. Illustrated by Bethan Woollvin, the interactive title enables children to explore the world of buttons, “from a singing button to a tickle button and a button that makes a rude sound”. It is the first picture book by YA author Nicholls, who is represented by Jodie Hodges at United Agents.


TheBookseller.com Abbs’ walking account to Two Roads


Genre switch


A “feminist meditation” on remarkable women and nature has been won by Two Roads. Windswept: Why Women Walk is the first non-fiction title from novelist Annabel Abbs, who, after a life-threatening accident,


realised she had “taken the simple act of walking for granted” and vowed to get out more in the countryside. The book delves into how women in particular relate to nature, focusing on the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Simone de Beauvoir and Nan Shepherd. Abbs re-created some of those women’s rambles, including Shepard’s “barefoot walks, naked swims and night- time sleeps in the Cairngorms”. Two Roads’ Lisa Highton bought UK and Commonwealth rights at auction from Rachel Mills, with pre-empts in Germany (btb), Italy (Mondadori) and the Netherlands (Karakter). Mills recently launched her own agency, Rachel Mills Literary, after stints at Furniss Lawton and PFD.


ANNABEL ABBS HAS RE-TRACED FAMOUS WALKS


YA star Jarratt jumps to adult novels with Trapeze


Carnegie Medal-nominated YA author Laura Jarratt is swapping children’s books for adults, and has struck a deal with Trapeze. Editorial director Phoebe Morgan acquired world, all-language rights to Jarratt’s first adult book Mother, which explores “every parent’s worst nightmare”, together with a second title, Te Disappeared, from Ariella Feiner at United Agents. When lawyer Lizzie plunges her car into a lake one night,


she is forced to choose between her daughters as there is only time to pull one girl out of the sinking vehicle. As the consequences of Lizzie’s decision come to light, Mother takes the reader into a mystery full of grief, suspense and drama. Morgan said: “Emotional, relatable and with a side portion of suspense, Mother gripped me from the first page and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Laura creates an all-too-believable story that will resonate with readers the world over, and I cannot wait to launch her on the Trapeze list.” Jarratt previously published YA fiction,


and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize with her novel Skin Deep. She has also been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Trapeze will publish Mother in paperback, e-book and audio format in 2020, with Disappeared to follow in 2021.


Moving to adult


09


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LATEST NEWS Bookshops campaign for same business rate relief as pubs


Bookshops are asking to be given the same business-rate relief as pubs, arguing they help to drive social cohesion in a similar way to drinking establishments.


Igloo overhaul puts business back on track


Igloo Books, the mass-market children’s books business owned by Bonnier Publishing, has undergone an overhaul thanks to its new chief executive officer, who has affirmed the division’s future profitability.


PLR to cover e-books and audiobooks


The Public Lending Right (PLR) will be extended to cover e-book audiobooks borrowed from libraries from 1stJ


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