Gollancz pre-empts debut YA fantasy The Girl King

Gollancz has pre-empted a debut YA fantasy, The Girl King by Mimi Yu, inspired by East and North Asian histories.

The book, scheduled to publish in trade paperback, audio and e-book in spring 2019, will follow an exiled princess fighting to reclaim the throne from her cruel cousin, with the reluctant help of a shapeshifting boy.

Rachel Winterbottom, senior editor at Gollancz, bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in a two-book pre-empt for The Girl King from Molly Ker Hawn at The Bent Agency.

Winterbottom said: "When I read the first page of The Girl King, I knew this book was something special. The world-building is incredible and the writing is just divine. I absolutely adored this powerful book from start to heart-wrenching finish. I am so delighted that Mimi Yu has joined the Gollancz family."

Yu, from New York state, now living in California, said: "I couldn’t be more thrilled that The Girl King found a home across the pond with Rachel Winterbottom and Gollancz. I’m truly honoured by their enthusiasm for the project, and I can’t wait to share it with a UK audience."