Oneworld moves into YA market with Rock the Boat

Oneworld is launching a Young Adult imprint called Rock the Boat, which will feature both fiction and narrative non-fiction with “social issues, moral dilemmas or journeys of discovery at their heart”.

Launching in January 2015, the first fiction title in the imprint is Mindwalker by J A Steiger, the first in a sci-fi series for “fans of The Hunger Games”, featuring a clever, feisty heroine in a dystopian future where the government maintains peace and order by wiping traumatic memories. UK and Commonwealth rights were bought from Claire Anderson-Wheeler at Regal Literary in a two-book deal. The second book, Mindstormer, will follow in 2016.

The second title to launch the imprint is Minus Me by Norwegian bestselling YA author Ingelin Røssland, which focuses on a young teen with a fatal heart condition and explores provocative questions about love and death.

Publisher Juliet Mabey said the imprint’s focus would be on “exceptional writing and brilliant stories” with novels spanning literary to genre fiction. She said: “Our fiction list already includes strong novels exploring other cultures and big issues. A chance conversation at a literary event convinced us we should broaden our commissioning to include the YA market with novels like these.”  

This is Oneworld’s first bespoke children’s list, but previous forays into the sector include the illustrated edition of Richard Adams’ Watership Down, due out this Christmas.