US Rights Guide
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US Rights Guide SPRINGS P R I N G HIGHLIGHTSH I G H L I G H T S 20212 0 2 1 PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE UK RIGHTS DEPARTMENT Cornerstone | Ebury | Penguin General | Penguin Press Michael Joseph | Transworld | Vintage Chantal Noel, Group Rights Director Email: [email protected] Sarah Scarlett, Adult Rights Director USA & Canada (Ebury & Transworld) Email: [email protected] Amelia Evans, Rights Director USA & Canada (Cornerstone, Penguin Press & Penguin General) Email: [email protected] Jane Kirby, Rights Director USA & Canada (Michael Joseph & Vintage) Email: [email protected] Anjali Nathani, Rights Director (maternity cover for Catherine Wood) USA & Canada (Illustrated Titles) Email: [email protected] CONTENTS Fiction Memoir Nature & Environment Art & Culture History Politics & Society Science Lifestyle, Health & Self Development Business & Personal Development Food & Drink Sport Cover illustration: credit to Alicia Fernandes FICTION CORNERSTONE FICTION Duckling Eve Ainsworth What if your neighbour asked you to watch her seven-year-old daughter for an afternoon, and then she never returned? Lucy's life is small, but safe. Every day she goes to work, checks in on her unstable, alcoholic father, then spends her evenings watching old Columbo reruns, isolating herself away from the rest of the community on her South London estate. Her routine is all that she can handle, given what happened in her past. So when her new neighbour Cassie asks Lucy if she could look after her seven-year-old daughter Rubi, she is reluctant to agree. Then when the hours pass, and then days, and Rubi's Mum doesn't come back, Lucy's worst- case-scenario is now her reality. Lucy is not only responsible for herself anymore. She is responsible for a scared little girl who needs her help. Something has happened to Cassie, and Lucy must find her before it's too late. With shades of Eleanor Oliphant and About a Boy, Duckling is a moving and heart-warming story about loneliness, friendship and finding love in unexpected places. Watch the author pitch her book here. _______________________ Eva Ainsworth is an award-winning and Carnegie nominated children’s author, for both middle grade and teen readers. She has vast experience working as a public speaker and creative workshop coordinator for schools, libraries and other events both nationally and internationally. Born and raised in Crawley, West Sussex, Eve is one of seven children. She is fiercely proud of her working class roots and her large, loud family. Eve still lives in Crawley with her husband, two young children and crazy dog. Duckling is her first novel for adults. 26 May 2022 | Sonny Marr for Arrow | 400 pp Rights Contact: Amelia Evans MICHAEL JOSEPH FICTION Baby It's Cold Outside Emily Bell Ten years ago Norah and Andrew promised to meet on Christmas Eve if they're still single. Now the time has come, but will Andrew be waiting there for her? After another year of heartbreak, Norah's excited about Christmas until her mother says she's going out of town. To make up for it, she gifts Norah her air miles. But Norah doesn't want to spend Christmas alone. Then she remembers Andrew, who she fell for ten years earlier. Fate pulled them apart, but not before they made a promise: If they're both single on Christmas Eve 2019, they'll meet under the clock on Grafton Street, Dublin. So Norah decides to go to Dublin. And, hopefully, to Andrew. But will he be there? Or will she be lonely (again) this Christmas? Watch the editor pitch her book here. _______________________ Emily Bell grew up in Dublin and moved to London after university. She has had various jobs including tour guide, bookseller and pub singer, and now writes full time. She lives in north London with her husband and daughter. 14 October 2021 | Rebecca Hilsdon for Michael Joseph | 400 pp Rights Contact: Jane Kirby MICHAEL JOSEPH FICTION The Confession Hilary Boyd She thought she found the man of her dreams. Then came the confession . Sara Tempest has been alone since her husband died and daughters left home. So when she meets the charming Bernard she believes the years of heartache and loneliness are finally behind her. She quickly moves into his beautiful home on the wind battered cliffs of Hastings. But, after a while, she begins to wonder if Bernard is all he seems. He's barely in touch with his children and with stifling reminders of his wife everywhere Sara looks, the walls begin to close in. Then comes Bernard's confession and Sara's newfound happiness starts to crumble around her . _______________________ Hilary Boyd was a nurse, marriage counsellor and ran a small cancer charity before becoming an author. She has written eight books, including Thursdays in the Park, her debut novel which sold over half a million copies and was an international bestseller. 14 April 2022 | Rebecca Hilsdon for Michael Joseph | 400 pp Rights Contact: Jane Kirby VINTAGE FICTION Deadly Cure Mahi Cheshire This is an exhilarating debut thriller set in a hospital, following the ferocious race between two women to find a breakthrough cure. The Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm... Dr Rea Darsena is devastated when she loses out on her dream research job to her med-school rival, Dr Julia Stone. At first she's prepared to bow out gracefully. But when it comes to light that Julia got the job using Rea's own cutting edge research on a possible vaccine for cancer, Rea can't let it go. As Julia's work goes from strength to strength Rea watches obsessively. Until finally, just after a breakthrough that will change the course of medical history, Julia is found dead. Now Rea has the dream job she's always wanted. A job she would - almost - have killed for. But as she steps into Julia's shoes she begins to uncover disturbing evidence that stalked Julia's final days - anonymous phone calls, unidentifiable patient records - and a hospital basement that doesn't officially exist. As suspicion starts to fall on Rea as the prime suspect in the murder case, she begins to question everything - not just in the case, but in the hospital too. With so much at stake, who makes the decisions here - who gets to live and who has to die? Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Grey's Anatomy, Deadly Cure is a thrilling fast-paced story with a compelling hook - is there a toxic flip-side to the the human urge to 'cure'? Watch the author pitch her book here. _______________________ Mahi Cheshire was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in London. She works as a doctor, has a degree in Psychology and teaches at Kings College Medical School. She loves travelling, kundalini yoga and boxing, all of which provide inspiration for her writing. 6 January 2022 | Jade Chandler for Vintage | 384 pp Rights Contact: Jane Kirby VINTAGE FICTION The Cook Ajay Chowdhury The Cook is the second instalment in Ajay Chowdhury's distinctive and page-turning Kamil Rahman crime series. A woman is found dead in her flat, and a series of murders in London's East End soon follows... Kamil and Anjoli continue to work together in a curry house in London's Brick Lane. Kamil has graduated from waiter to cook, while Anjoli manages the restaurant with her usual flair. But soon they are embroiled in a string of mysterious murders - Anjoli suspects that someone is killing homeless people around their restaurant. The police are indifferent but Kamil and Anjoli are determined - they notice the same bottle of gin lying next to each dead body as well as a noted increase in the number of street casualties. But there are no obvious signs of poisoning or violence. Is it just a coincidence, or is a serial killer at work? As they move between life and death in a nursing college hospital, the ups and downs of running a restaurant, and the streets of the East End where many sleep rough, Kamil and Anjoli slowly begin to put together a series of seemingly unconnected incidents, with lashings of Indian cooking and the bustle of Brick Lane providing a lively backdrop to this thought- provoking read... Praise for The Waiter: “A hugely entertaining first novel, taking us from Kolkata to Brick Lane.” Ann Cleeves “A rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish... a refreshing and welcome addition to the world of detective fiction. One of my favourite reads of the year.” Abir Mukherjee _______________________ Ajay Chowdhury is the winner of the inaugural Harvill Secker and Bloody Scotland competition. He is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director who lived the first third of his life in India and then moved to London, where he cooks experimental meals for his wife and daughters. 9 June 2022 | Jade Chandler for Harvill Secker | 384 pp Rights Contact: Jane Kirby TRANSWORLD FICTION Yip Paddy Crewe A brilliantly original voice-driven debut about defying expectations, set in the Georgia Gold Rush. It is 1815 in the small town of Heron's Creek, Georgia, when Yip Tolroy - mute, medical anomaly and social outcast - is born. His father has disappeared in mysterious circumstances, so he is raised by his mother: a powerful, troubled, independent woman who owns and runs a general store. She struggles to manage his needs, leaving Yip to find the means of asserting himself in an unforgiving, hostile environment. With the help of a retired doctor, he begins to transform his life by learning to read and write, his portal into the community a piece of slate and a supply of chalk.