Faber acquires Prix Goncourt-winning novel by Leila Slimani

Faber has signed an "electrifying" literary novel by Leila Slimani, which was awarded French literary prize, the Prix Goncourt yesterday (3rd November).

Mitzi Angel, publisher of Faber, acquired world English rights for two books by Slimani from Editions Gallimard at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The novel, entitled Chanson douce in French, is the tale of a "perfect" nanny who murders two children she is looking after. The book – which begins with the words "the baby is dead" – is already a bestseller in France, the publisher has said. The novel does not yet have an English title.

Moroccan-born Slimani, a former journalist, is only the seventh woman to have won the Prix Goncourt in its 112-year history. Translation rights have been sold in 15 countries thus far.

The second book in the deal is In the Garden of the Ogre, Slimani’s debut novel about a woman with a sex addiction.