Joanna Cannon's second novel to tell Three Things About Elsie

Joanna Cannon has signed another two-book deal with The Borough Press for six figures.

The deal signed with publishing director Suzie Dooré for UK and Commonwealth rights means the The Trouble With Goats and Sheep author will be published by The Borough Press until at least 2022.

The deal for her third and fourth novels was brokered with Sue Armstrong at C+W Agency, for six figures.

Cannon’s second novel Three Things About Elsie tells the story of 84-year-old Florence, who has been lifelong friends with Elsie, who has fallen in her flat and waits to be rescued. As she tells her story, we find out she has a secret, a secret she promised she would keep forever. And Florence is worried her forever is now.

“Three Things About Elsie… is about memory and identity,” the publisher said. “It shows there is so very much more to us than the worst thing we have ever done, and who we really are is found in the echo we leave behind, which might be louder than we think.”

Cannon said: “Little did I know, as I leaned against my steering wheel writing this story, just how many people would eventually read it. I cannot thank HarperCollins enough for their incredible support. Working with such a brilliant team has been an absolute joy, and I'm delighted to be continuing that relationship into the future.”

Dooré added: “I couldn’t be happier at the prospect of Borough publishing Joanna’s third and fourth novels – editing Three Things About Elsie has been a joy, and having had a sneak preview of three and four I’m really excited to read them. Her writing fits perfectly with Borough’s ethos of ‘Books that make you...’ as Joanna’s novels make her readers laugh, cry, reminisce and wonder.”

The book will be published in January 2018.

Cannon’s debut The Trouble With Goats and Sheep was selected for the W H Smith Richard & Judy Book Club spring list, and has sold almost 200,000 copies across all format, according to The Borough Press. Rights for the title have sold into 14 territories and the publisher expects paperback editions to have sold 100,000 since it was release in December when Nielsen BookScan releases its figures later on Tuesday (28th March).