Century pre-empts S K Barnett thriller as DreamWorks bags film rights

A dark psychological thriller written under the pseudonym 'S K Barnett' has been sold in a pre-empt to Century and optioned for film by DreamWorks.

Century and Arrow publisher Selina Walker bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to Safe from Lyndsey Blessing of InkWell Management. 

It will be published in hardcover in the summer of 2020. In the US, Safe was sold to Dutton where it will be their lead title for their summer period.

Century added S K Barnett is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author whose previous book was turned into a major motion picture.

Safe is described as “a dark psychological thriller that focuses on the return of a young woman snatched from outside her home 12 years previously”. The synopsis reads: “Her parents welcome her back - but soon the questions start to mount. Where was she taken? Why is she back? And most worryingly, is she who she says she is?”

Walker said of the deal: “To say that this is gripping does not do this thriller justice. You read it deep into the night, telling yourself that you’ll stop and turn off the lights - but this is really not an option. And yes it’s psychological suspense with an unreliable narrator, but the author turns these conventions on their heads in a truly original way and leads the reader into a dark and very unsafe place from which there really is no way back. It’s a truly superb read.”