Avon snaps up Williams' 'love story of near-misses'

HarperCollins' Avon imprint has acquired world all languages rights for a debut novel from journalist and author Laura Jane Williams. 

Avon senior commissioning editor Phoebe Morgan acquired world all language rights to Our Stop from Ella Kahn at Diamond, Kahn and Woods and the book is slated for publication in June 2019.

The former Grazia dating guru’s first novel is described by the publisher as "a love story of near-misses; full of humour and heart, it’s the 'Rush Hour Crush' column for the millennial age where none of us have got the time to finish scrolling through Instagram, let alone meet someone". Avon said it is "the story of two people with messy lives who can’t quite connect – but want to".

Morgan said: "I’m obsessed with the 'Rush Hour Crush' column in the Metro and I love the idea of two people meeting through a chance connection like that. I’ve admired Laura’s amazing platform and her writing for a long time, and working with her on this book feels like the perfect combination. I know she will bring so much heart to this novel and I can’t wait to see people reading it on the train."

Williams said: "I am so thrilled to be working on this with Phoebe – I’ve followed her career avidly since meeting at the Stylist Lit Fest a few years ago, and am in awe at her ability to manage the market’s demands with what authors want to write. Avon are the perfect home for my first foray into novel-writing, and I so look forward to making them my fiction home."

Williams is a columnist for Red and the author of two non-fiction books, published by Hodder, including Becoming which was based on her experiences of romance and love.