Wales Book of the Year winner Conran snapped up by W&N

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired a "bold" new novel by Wales Book of the Year winner and Dylan Thomas Prize shortlisted author Alys Conran. 

Conran, whose debut Pigeon (Parthian Books) was published to acclaim in 2016, will next publish Dignity, a story of three women: Evelyn, an engineer’s wife in British India; Magda, an old lady stuck in an empty house; and Susheela, a young English carer of Bengali descent in a British seaside town on the verge of collapse. The novel was "a labour of love" according to Conran, inspired partly by her family history in India, and she was awarded an AHRC scholarship to write the novel. 

W&N will publish in hardback, e-book and audio in spring 2019. W&N commissioning editor Federico Andornino acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Jenny Hewson at Rogers, Coleridge and White.

Andornino said: "Dignity is the work of an incredibly skilled storyteller: Alys Conran’s writing resonates with the reader in unexpected ways, and this novel is a phenomenal achievement. I am thrilled and proud to welcome Alys to the W&N family and I can’t wait for readers to discover her voice: I honestly think she’s one of the best writers of her generation."