Corvus acquires debut thriller Paper Cut by Rachel Taff for 2025

Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired UK and Commonwealth Rights in Rachel Taff’s Paper Cut from Madeleine Milburn. Part of a two-book deal, Paper Cut will be published in hardback and trade paperback in Spring 2025. North American rights were sold to Danielle Dieterich at William Morrow at auction.

Rachel Taff is the Director of Development at Dynamic Television, known for Ginny & Georgia and Drops of God. She lives in Los Angeles and Paper Cut is her first novel.

Paper Cut is a twisty and evocative dual-timeline story about a true crime memoirist infamous for having survived a mysterious cult run by her father twenty years earlier. As she becomes the focus of a documentary in the present-day, secrets from her past come back to haunt her and threaten to destroy the life she has built. Pitched as The Girls meets Jessica Knoll.

Rachel Taff says:

‘Inspired by the toxicity of fame and true crime, I felt compelled to write a cautionary tale about a woman raised to believe her worth is determined by outside approval and the consequences of that false belief. I’m thrilled Paper Cut has found an amazing home in the UK with Sarah and the stellar team at Corvus. I can’t wait for readers to step into Lucy’s shoes and escape to the Oasis.’

Madeleine Milburn says:

‘Drawing on a mysterious cult and a true crime icon, Paper Cut is at the cutting edge of suspense with Rachel’s exploration of hard-hitting, topical issues in a sophisticated, twisty and propulsive framework. I am so excited for the world to get their hands on it!’

Sarah Hodgson says:

‘I absolutely raced through Paper Cut – it’s the most page-turning novel I’ve read in a long time, and combines many of my favourite elements: cults, difficult family dynamics, a coming-of-age narrative. In its protagonist, true crime icon Lucy Golden, Rachel has created a fascinatingly flawed and utterly compelling viewpoint character. I couldn’t tear myself away.’

Drummond Moir appointed M.D. of Atlantic Books

Atlantic Books is delighted to announce that Drummond Moir has been appointed the new Managing Director of Atlantic Books, replacing Will Atkinson.

Drummond Moir is currently Deputy Divisional Publisher at Ebury where he has headed their Smart Thinking hub for the past four years. His authors at Ebury include Head of TED Talks Chris Anderson, award-winning conservationist Charles Clover, psychologist Kimberley Wilson, and novelist John Green. In Moir’s time at Ebury, his hub’s authors have won or been shortlisted for all five of the UK’s leading nonfiction prizes – the Costa, Baillie Gifford, Wainwright, FT and William Hill – in addition to winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Moir was previously at Sceptre and Hodder & Stoughton, which he joined in 2011. Whilst there he published numerous bestsellers and prize-winners including Factfulness by Hans Rosling, The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli, Deeds Not Words: The Story of Women’s Rights, Then and Now by Helen Pankhurst, and fiction successes such as A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers, and World Fantasy Award-winning and Man Booker-longlisted novel The Chimes by Anna Smaill.

Drummond Moir said, ‘I’d like to pay tribute to the editorial and campaigns teams who have achieved such great things for our hub; and to Ebury’s Exec, led by Joel Rickett and Andrew Goodfellow, for such inspiring and supportive leadership during turbulent times.

Atlantic is a publishing house built on great writing, original thinking, superb storytelling and an endless capacity to surprise and delight: exactly the things readers and listeners the world over need more than ever. I’m looking forward to throwing all my energy into working with my new colleagues and our authors to take the company and its publishing to bold new heights.’

Robert Gorman, CEO of Atlantic’s parent company Allen & Unwin, said, ‘Drummond is both a pre-eminent publisher and an astute leader, and we are delighted he will be heading Atlantic Books. He has a unique feel for great publishing, and combines editorial verve, entrepreneurialism and big-picture thinking in a winning way. Atlantic’s publishing has a worldwide reputation for quality and breadth, and Drummond’s leadership will further enhance our strong and highly experienced Atlantic team as they continue their ambitious publishing.’

Andrew Goodfellow, Divisional Publisher at Ebury, said, ‘As friend and colleague I’m both sad and thrilled to see Drummond moving on. Sad because he’s been such a dynamic, supportive and caring member of the leadership team and thrilled because I think he’ll make an incredible MD for Atlantic. He really believed in Ebury and helped transform us into a consistent and focused home for bestselling and prizewinning non-fiction. Thankfully he leaves behind an amazing team that will only continue that spectacular publishing.’

Moir will join Atlantic Books in the Autumn, reporting to Robert Gorman.

Atlantic to publish Kerry Andrew’s moving “Sarah Moss meets The Last Of Us” novel Spring 2024

Atlantic Fiction Publishing Director James Roxburgh has bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada and translation) in Kerry Andrew’s We Are Together Because from Jessica Woollard at David Higham Associates. We Are Together Because will be published in hardback, trade paperback and eBook in Spring 2024.

Kerry Andrew is a London-based musician and author. They are the acclaimed author of Swansong (2018) and Skin (2021), and their short fiction has been shortlisted twice for BBC National Short Story Award and has been performed on BBC Radio Four. They are also the winner of four British Composer Awards.

The beautifully observed human dynamics of Sarah Moss meets the emo-apocalypse of The Last of Us, a gripping, moving novel about siblings, sex and the end of the world.

Luke, Connor, Thea and Violet spend their first holiday together alone in their father’s house in France. The boys don’t really know him – he left their mother when she was still pregnant with Connor, getting together with the girls’ mother soon afterwards – and they don’t really know their half-sisters, either. Luke, the eldest and most easy going of the four, is keen to bring a new shape to their overlapping, unconventional family; Connor and Thea, born just six months apart but a world of difference between them, are attracted to each other, something they try not to acknowledge but which keeps pushing its way to the surface; Violet, the youngest, is trying to figure some things out about herself, and trying desperately to forget others.

Sex, in its multiple pleasurable divergences and forms, disturbances and abuses, is on the minds of all of the siblings during the hot, lethargic summer days next to the pool. Meanwhile the land is responding and reacting to something inexplicable and eerie. There is a sound, a strong buzzing tonal undercurrent that only Connor can hear, and when Violet one night sees a plane light abruptly drop and disappear in the night sky, it signals the unsettling beginning of something that threatens so much more than their turbulent holiday…

James Roxburgh says,

‘I really love this. It has textures of Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind or Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven, but it is its own gorgeous, clever, thrilling thing. It’s a novel of real sophistication, of considerable power and of unfolding revelation, one that starts as a sensual summer drama and very quickly becomes about our own survival. In an industry in which we all pretend to read books in a single sitting, this really is a book that I read in a single sitting, and I’m thrilled to bring it and Kerry to Atlantic Fiction.’

Kerry Andrew says,

‘I’m delighted to be working with James and the passionate, dedicated team at Atlantic Fiction. We Are Together Because brings together long-time preoccupations of mine: uncomfortable family dynamics, listening and hearing, and how we cope in the face of great loss. It’s set in an intense, increasingly sun-seared corner of France, a place that has settled itself in my heart. I can’t wait to introduce my four complicated siblings – Luke, Connor, Thea and Violet, whom I’ve grown to love – to the world!’

Jessica Woollard says,

‘Kerry Andrew is an enormously talented human being with multiple strings to their bow and great range as a writer. We Are Together Because is an emotionally powerful and hugely entertaining novel that really showcases that talent and feels absolutely on message. I know that James and the team at Atlantic Fiction will do a superb job of bringing it to a wide readership.’

Corvus acquires Happily Never After by Rachel North

Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired World Rights in Rachel North’s Happily Never After from Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton. Happily Never After will be published in paperback original and eBook in Summer 2025.

Rachel North was born in Scarborough and studied English Literature at Oxford University. She has worked as a cleaner, a receptionist, a kitchen designer, a market researcher, a company director, a celebrity shopper and a victim support volunteer. She has an MA in Creative Writing. Under the name Caroline Bond she is the author of six novels, including The Second Child, a Radio 2 Book Club pick and, her most recently published book, Thea and Denise. She lives in Leeds with her husband and one of her three children… the other two having grown up and escaped.

A fairy tale wedding is what every couple dreams of. But not all fairy tales have happy endings…

A small group of family and friends head to a beautiful, secluded location in the mountains of Majorca for the wedding of Alex and Maddie. The Finca Incantata is a magical place – a castle with a cobbled courtyard, a deep, cold, fresh-water pool and a high tower that looks out over the surrounding wilderness.

The guests arrive bringing with them their pretty dresses, their smart suits and their own thoughts about the upcoming union and about marriage itself. Among them is one guest who is determined to ensure the wedding does not take place…

Who is the malevolent presence? Why do they hate so fiercely and so specifically? And just how far are they prepared go to prevent Alex and Maddie tying the knot?

 

Rachel North says,

‘As I child I loved reading, and being read, fairy tales – the beautiful illustrations used to fascinate me, but I never fantasised about meeting Prince Charming, falling in love and living happily ever after. My make-believe was far darker; full of drama, betrayal and people who were not who they pretended to be. Hence it was, perhaps, no great surprise that I became a writer. I hope that readers enjoy my dark tale of the perils of believing that everyone wishes you well on your wedding day.’

Sarah Hodgson says,

‘I’m thrilled to be continuing Corvus’s relationship with the hugely talented Caroline Bond in her new guise as Rachel North. Happily Never After is a brilliantly entertaining and twisty psychological thriller that will have readers racing to turn the pages.’

Bestselling author Ruth Hogan moves to Corvus in a two-book deal

Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired UK and Commonwealth Rights in Ruth Hogan’s The Phoenix Ballroom from Lisa Highton at Jenny Brown Associates. Bought as part of a two-book deal, North American rights went to Rachel Kahan, VP/Executive Editor at HarperCollins. The Phoenix Ballroom will be published in hardback and trade paperback in Summer of 2024, with a paperback following in Spring 2025.

Ruth Hogan studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College and went on to work in local government. A car accident and a subsequent run-in with cancer convinced her finally to get her act together and pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The result was her debut novel, The Keeper of Lost Things. She is now living the dream (and occasional nightmare) as a full-time author with her husband and rescue dogs in a rambling Victorian house stuffed with treasure that inspires her novels.

Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves is left with a huge house, a bank balance to match and an uneasy feeling that she’s been sleepwalking through the last fifty years.  Determined to live fully again, she embraces life with an enthusiasm and purpose she’d forgotten she could muster.

Buying the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom, and with it a drop-in centre and spiritualist church, could be seen as reckless, but Venetia’s generosity, courage and kindness provide a refuge for a touching cast of damaged and lonely people who find their chosen family. As their stories intertwine, long buried secrets are revealed, missed opportunities seized and lives are renewed, and the Phoenix lives up to its name.

The Phoenix Ballroom is a story of hope and second chances across the generations.

Ruth Hogan says,

‘I’m absolutely delighted to be starting a new chapter in my writing career with the wonderful team at Corvus and Atlantic Books. Since our first meeting, I have been convinced that this is the perfect home for me and my books and I can’t wait to begin working with them.’

Sarah Hodgson says,

‘I am thrilled and honoured to be welcoming Ruth Hogan to the Corvus list with her gorgeous uplifting new novel. Filled with Ruth’s trademark wit and warmth, The Phoenix Ballroom is one of the most uplifting novels I have read in the last few years, and will instantly fill anyone who reads it with a warm glow. The entire Corvus team is excited to get started on bringing Ruth’s beautiful writing to as many readers as humanly possible.’

Ruth Hogan’s previous four novels – The Keeper of Lost Things, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel and Madame Burova were published by Two Roads, an imprint of Hachette, and between them have sold 1.3 million copies to date. Her work has been published widely in translation.

Atlantic Books acquires urgent and compassionate book about abortion care

Atlantic Non-Fiction Publishing Director Poppy Hampson has bought UK and Commonwealth rights in A Necessary Kindness: Stories from the Frontline of Abortion Care by Juno Carey from Charlotte Colwill at Colwill & Peddle. A Necessary Kindness will be published in hardback in Spring 2024.

Juno Carey is a midwife practitioner who has worked in abortion care for the last eight years, having worked as a midwife in the NHS for several years before that. She is a vocal campaigner for reproductive rights as part of her work, and lives in Sussex with her wife and children.

In 2015, Juno Carey left her job as a midwife, burnt out, frustrated and looking for a better way to deliver care to women. And then she found work that she loves, that brings her satisfaction and the knowledge that she is helping women, directly and fundamentally, every day. Working in an abortion clinic is of course not easy, but it is a necessary kindness: she is delivering care that changes and even saves lives. In this book she shares the moving stories of the patients she helps there. Urgent and illuminating, A Necessary Kindness reveals the misunderstood world of abortion clinics and deals with an incredibly complex issue – around which there is still too much taboo and too little understanding – with gentle compassion and bold conviction. It is deeply human, often heart-rending, and desperately timely: these are the stories we need to share, the conversations we need to be having, and the rights we need to protect.

Juno Carey says,

‘The drive behind this book is to show the real-life, human side to abortion care. For those who have only read about it in the paper or heard about it during political debates, I hope to offer a true insight to the reality of the service and the lifeline it offers to so many every day. And to those who have accessed care in the past or may need to in the future, I hope to dispel some myths and provide reassurance that you are not alone and your choices are not judged. Thank you to Atlantic for being brave and showing such a passion for this book since the start. We share the same vision for the book and commitment to make a difference to the readers.’

Poppy Hampson says,

‘The dedication and determination with which Juno approaches her work, and the non-judgemental and caring way she shares these stories, convinced me that this is a book we need to publish. One in three women in the UK will have an abortion in their lifetime, for myriad different reasons, yet it is still so hard to talk about. This book will help to open up conversations and understanding, and of course it comes as a time when this is more needed than ever. I’m very proud to be publishing such an important book.’

Charlotte Colwill says,

‘These stories and the hugely passionate way in which Juno tells them are so vital, and I’m thrilled that they have found a home with Poppy and Atlantic, who really have the vision and bravery to get them into the hands of readers.’

Corvus bags two more gripping thrillers from Sam Blake

Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in Sam Blake’s Three Little Birds from Simon Trewin at Simon Trewin Ltd. Bought as part of a two-book deal, both novels will be published in TPB and eBook in January 2024 and January 2025, with paperbacks following in November of the same year.

Several of Sam Blake’s previous novels have reached the top spot in the Irish fiction chart, and she has been nominated for Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards three times. She is the founder of The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy, the writing resources website writing.ie, and Dublin crime fiction festival Murder One. She also sits on the boards of both the Society of Authors and the CWA, and recently relaunched National Crime Reading Month for the CWA.

The first title in the contract, Three Little Birds, will publish in early 2024. This thrilling forensic mystery in the tradition of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs introduces readers to facial reconstruction expert Dr Carla Steele when the discovery of a young woman’s skull prompts a killer to attempt to right the wrongs of the past. This will be followed a year later in 2025 by a second title, as Corvus continue to publish a new Sam Blake title every year

Sarah Hodgson, Corvus Publishing Director, says,

‘Sam Blake is a delight to publish, and I’m excited to continue our relationship with her. I love the way she creates strong, complex female characters we can really root for, and Dr Carla Steele is no exception. We have been working hard to expand Sam Blake’s readership in all our markets, and with these two thrilling new titles, we have big plans to build her audience even further. The best is yet to come for Sam Blake!’

Sam Blake says,

‘I’m delighted to be publishing more adult thrillers with Corvus, their passion for publishing shows in every book and I’m thrilled to be working with Sarah and the team to bring Dr Carla Steele to readers. She’s a fresh and exciting character – who has personal reasons for wanting to recover the lost – and I loved bringing her world to the page and exploring this fascinating area of forensics. I hope Three Little Birds will keep readers on the edge of their seats.’

Simon Trewin says:

‘2023 is such an exciting year for Sam Blake and we are thrilled to be partnering once more on the adult fiction front with Sarah and her brilliant team at Corvus’

Atlantic to publish radical poetry collection by Meena Kandasamy

Joanna Lee, Editor at Atlantic Books, has acquired World English rights, excl. Indian subcontinent, in Meena Kandasamy’s new poetry collection, Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You, from David Godwin at David Godwin Associates. Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You will be published as a flapped paperback in May 2023.

Described by the Independent as a ‘one-woman, agit-prop literary-political movement’, Meena Kandasamy is a poet, writer, translator, anti-caste activist and academic based in India. Her extensive corpus includes two poetry collections, Touch (2006) and Ms Militancy (2010), as well as three novels, The Gypsy Goddess (2014), When I Hit You (2017) and Exquisite Cadavers (2019).

Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You cements Meena Kandasamy as one of the most exciting, radical thinkers at work today. These poems chronicle wanting, art-making, and the practising of resistance and solidarity in the face of a hostile state. Here, the personal is political, and Kandasamy moves between sex, desire, family and wider societal issues of caste, the refugee crisis, and freedom of expression with grace and defiance. This is a bold, unforgettable collection by a poet who compels us to sit up and listen.

Meena Kandasamy says,

‘I am overcome with happiness and excitement that Atlantic Books is publishing my latest book of poetry. Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You is a very special collection for me. I started my career as a poet, but the overwhelming attention from my debut collection, Ms Militancy meant I took to writing fiction as a way to ground myself, and to explore and commit to my political work in a different art form. As the years passed, and as India slipped into the hands of a tyrannous right-wing regime, I turned once again to poetry – as a response to the times, as a statement against the oppression, as a rallying cry. What is collected here are the love poems and the political poems written in these tumultuous times.

Over the last decade, the UK audience has only read my work as a novelist, whereas in India, it is my radical poetry which readers are most familiar with. I feel extremely special that I will be able to connect with people in the UK through my work as a poet as well. I am thankful to Atlantic who have championed my work across all genres, and I’m proud to be published by them once again.’

Joanna Lee, Editor, says,

‘Meena is already widely celebrated as a poet in India, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this important facet of her incredibly impressive body of work to Atlantic. This is a vital collection, full of hope and love and rage, and Meena is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious, blazing. political writers of our time. I can’t wait to introduce her poetry to readers over here, and to see it garner all the acclaim that it so richly deserves.’

Atlantic to publish Polly Toynbee’s new book, An Uneasy Inheritance, in June 2023

Clare Drysdale, Group Associate Publisher at Atlantic Books, has bought UK & Commonwealth (exc. Canada) rights to Polly Toynbee’s An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals from Clare Alexander at Aitken Alexander. An Uneasy Inheritance will be published in royal hardback and e

Book on June 1st 2023 and in audio format in co-production with WF Howes, narrated by the author.

Polly Toynbee

is a journalist, author and broadcaster. A Guardian columnist, she was formerly the BBC’s social affairs editor. She has written for the Observer, the Independent and Radio Times and been an editor at the Washington Monthly. She has won numerous awards including a National Press Award and the Orwell Prize for Journalism.

While for generations Polly Toynbee’s ancestors have been committed left-wing rabble-rousers railing against injustice, they could never claim to be working class, settling instead for the prosperous life of academia or journalism enjoyed by their own forebears. So where does that leave their ideals of class equality?

Through a colourful, entertaining examination of her own family – which in addition to her writer father Philip and her historian grandfather Arnold contains everyone from the Glenconners to Jessica Mitford to Bertrand Russell, and features ancestral home Castle Howard as a backdrop – Toynbee explores the myth of mobility, the guilt of privilege, and asks for a truly honest conversation about class in Britain.

Polly Toynbee says:

‘Social class is a great national obsession and it lies at the heart of every family story. The hard truth is that Britain is a lot less socially mobile than we like to think. I write about that class divide often in my Guardian columns – but this book is different. This time it’s personal. I’ve written about myself, my own social background and what it means to grow up solidly, securely middle class for generations. Yet my family of radicals has always rebelled against their own privilege, sometimes with absurdly contrary and comic consequences. It’s awkward living comfortably with uncomfortable consciences.’

Clare Drysdale, Group Associate Publisher of Atlantic Books, says:

‘You may think you know Polly Toynbee, who’s been part of our media landscape for decades, fighting for social justice week in, week out in the pages of the Guardian. But did you know that her family tree includes everyone from Jessica Mitford to Bertrand Russell to the Glenconners? And that Castle Howard used to be the family pile? Polly excavates this remarkable history with one goal in mind: to explode the myth of class mobility in Britain. The comps are irresistible: it’s Hons and Rebels meets Nickel and Dimed, or Lady in Waiting with a social conscience, and we can’t wait to share Polly’s story with readers next June.’

Corvus acquires The Babysitter by Emma Curtis in two-book deal

Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights in Emma Curtis’ The Babysitter from Rebecca Ritchie at A M Heath. Bought as part of a two-book deal, The Babysitter will be published in PBO and eBook in October 2023.

Emma Curtis lives in London with her husband. A former school secretary, her years working in a school office led to a fascination with family dynamics, bad behaviour and the catastrophes that can so easily happen. The experience inspired Emma to write psychological suspense thrillers, and her debut, One Little Mistake, was a Number 1 Amazon bestseller. Emma has published four further titles with Transworld:  When I Find You, The Night You Left, Keep Her Quiet and Invite Me In.

The Babysitter is a tense psychological thriller about motherhood and obsession.

Ten years ago Claudia had exactly the life she wanted – married to her first love, the man of her dreams, with an 8-month-old daughter, Tilly. But everything changed in an instant when Tilly was taken from her, and Claudia eventually found herself jailed for the murder of her own child.

Now Claudia is out on probation having finally done what she’d vowed never to do – confess to manslaughter – in order to accomplish the only thing that matters to her: find her daughter, dead or alive, and punish the person who took her.

More than one person has something to lose by Claudia’s release – but only one is frightened enough to kill.

Sarah Hodgson, Corvus Publishing Director, says,

‘Emma Curtis is a hugely talented writer who delivers breathtakingly exciting and page-turning plots time after time. I’m honoured and delighted that she has chosen to join the Corvus list. I was blown away by The Babysitter from the very first page, with its gripping premise, precision-tuned plot and perfectly honed characters. I can’t wait to get to work with Emma and the Corvus team on bringing her work to readers far and wide.’

Emma Curtis says,

‘Meeting Sarah and the team in the Corvus offices, I immediately knew I’d found the right home. I am thrilled to be working with such an experienced editor in taking The Babysitter to a new level and can’t wait to see what the next year brings.’