PUBLISHING PHENOMS EXPECTED TO BE BLOCKBUSTERS

These days, the literary world looks an awful lot like the Toronto housing market. Publishers are doubling down on debut novelists as they hunt for the Next Big Book. This means bidding wars, auctions and astronomical advances. This way of doing business

Under the Harrow

By Flynn Berry

World rights for Flynn Berry’s suspenseful — but with an upmarket literary bent — Under the Harrow ( June 14) ended up with Penguin, after an auction that saw many other publishers attempting to get in on the action. Audio rights were also sold in a heated auction between three audio publishers, and this is unusual for a debut novel. According to author Claire Messud’s ( The Woman Upstairs) advance praise, “It’s like Broadchurch written by Elena Ferrante.” The novel is set in a small English town and tells the story of a pair of sisters, one of whom is found brutally murdered, and how their past may have informed their tragic future.

Still Mine

By Amy Stuart

Six and sevenfigure book deals are uncommon in Canada, but there’s a success story in the works here that is seeing an author’s career build in a different, and likely more sustainable, way: Torontonian Amy Stuart’s debut novel Still Mine (March 1) was pitched as Top of the Lake meets The Silent Wife — and was snapped up by Simon & Schuster Canada in a two-book deal. It was recently chosen as a Costco Buyer’s Pick, selected for Chatelaine’s Book Club and named one of the official best books of March by Amazon.ca and was on the bestseller list days after its release. All this has translated into interest from U.S. publishers, although a deal hasn’t been announced yet. I recently received an advance copy (we share a publisher) and for twenty-four hours shirked all responsibility and was captivated by Stuart’s Girl With a Dragon Tattooesque story of a woman fleeing an abusive husband by running away to a mining ghost town.

Homegoing

By Yaa Gyasi

The talk of this year’s London Book Fair, where many of the biggest publishing deals of the year are made, was a novel called Homegoing (June 7) by young American/Ghanian writer Yaa Gyasi. This novel — it follows two half-sisters in 18th century Ghana, who are born in different villages and lead vastly different lives — is rumoured to have garnered seven figures when it was sold to Knopf after a ten-publisher bidding war. Knopf is banking on it being the next Goldfinch or A Little Life, and there’s a great deal riding on that hope — including a young author’s career. The reality of such vast advances can be dire, leaving authors with poor sales records and dim prospects if they don’t overachieve as expected.

Maestra

By LS Hilton

Perhaps the best news out of the literary world of late is the search for the new E.L. James might be over. U.K. author LS Hilton is the alter ego of respected historian and biographer Lisa Hilton. An early draft of her sexual thriller Maestra (April 19) was met in Hollywood with a flurry of excitement — and a seven-figure deal for a movie script that is now in development. A three-book, 36country publishing deal with Putnam was also arranged. Judith, Maestra’s heroine, is a far cry from Fifty Shades’ Anastasia Steele. Judith has an Oxbridge degree and a high-powered job at a respected London auction house, in addition to being self-assured and sexually empowered. Plus, the calibre of Hilton’s writing is anticipated to elevate the novel from guilty pleasure to highbrow phenomenon.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper By Phaedra Patrick

Phaedra Patrick’s The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (May 3) was bought by Mira Books in a twobook six-figure “pre-empt” — meaning the publisher made its best offer before any other publishers had the chance and the author’s agent agreed not to consider any bids beforehand. Rights for the book went on to sell in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Brazil and the Netherlands, also for considerable advances. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is about a 69-year-old man who discovers a mysterious charm bracelet among the possessions of his recently deceased wife and finds himself on a journey of healing and self-discovery. I can already hear the lively book club discussions about this one.