Bonnier Zaffre signs three debut authors to Memory Lane list

Bonnier adult fiction imprint Zaffre has signed debut authors Shirley Mann, Katie Hutton, and Gillie Holmes to its Memory Lane list of saga-writing.

Editor Claire Johnson-Creek (pictured) acquired world English language rights in two books by Mann from Kate Barker at the Kate Barker Literary Agency. She also bagged world rights in two books by Hutton, a pseudonym for Katherine Mezzacappa, from Annette Green at the Annette Green Authors’ Agency and world English language rights in a three-book series by Holmes from Teresa Chris at the Teresa Chris Literary Agency. Zaffre will publish the first book from each author in 2020.

Lily’s War by Mann is a Second World War saga about a young girl from Manchester who joins the WAAFs and meets a group of strong women, all doing their bit for the war effort.

Hutton’s book The Gypsy’s Bride is “a cross-cultural love story” set between the wars about a Methodist preacher's granddaughter who falls in love with a member of a recently arrived Gypsy community.

Gillie Holmes’s series is set around a Dover café during Second World War, run by the Castle family. The series follows the family as they try to navigate life in a town that became known as Hellfire Corner during the war.

Johnson-Creek said: “I’m so excited to be welcoming Shirley, Katie and Gillie to Zaffre’s Memory Lane. They are brilliant new voices in the genre and it’s a thrill to have so much talent come all at once. From the moment I dipped in to each of these unique, but equally heart-warming, tragic and uplifting stories, I knew they would be assets to our saga list, which is an area we at Zaffre are committed to growing.”