Editors flock to prison tales and true crime while literary fiction flies pre-LBF

True crime, “professional confessional” memoirs and titles that look into “sealed worlds” are the hottest non-fiction trends, according to agents who spoke to The Bookseller ahead of next week’s London Book Fair. A former monk’s self-help tome has gone for a seven-figure sum; meanwhile a number of editors and agents are reporting a “literary fiction renaissance”.

One title creating a stir among UK publishers on the eve of the fair was Dr Gwen Adshead’s The Devil You Know. Co-authored with Eileen Horne, it is a memoir and “exploration of the nature of evil”, telling of Adshead’s time working as a forensic psychiatrist at Broadmoor Hospital. It was subject to a 13-publisher UK auction, conducted by C+W’s Sophie Lambert yet unconcluded as The Bookseller went to press. A US deal was inked with Scribner and the book was snapped up in a number of European markets after Lambert sent the submission out in late February. A number of editors and agents have already tipped it as one of the “books of the fair”.

The first acquisition from former Ebury deputy m.d. Jake Lingwood at his new, as-yet-unnamed Octopus imprint—which is primarily aimed at first-person narrative non-fiction—is one of the titles looking into “sealed and hidden worlds”. Lingwood pre-empted world rights to ex-British Army soldier John Carney’s military memoir, Operation Jihadi Bride, from agent Andrew Lownie of his eponymous agency. The title, co-authored by Clifford Thurlow, follows the armed forces’ mission to save many young women enslaved by Isis in Syria.

Another insight into a cloaked community comes from monk turned motivational speaker Jay Shetty. The Bookseller spoke to two interested publishers who backed out before the money “went crazy”, and understands that HarperCollins clinched a UK deal with a bid of around £500,000, negotiated by Anna Carmichael of Abner Stein. The US deal was concluded for around $1.5m, The Bookseller understands.

In terms of popular themes in non-fiction, Curtis Brown agent Cathryn Summerhayes said editors were on the hunt for “authentic memoirs, ‘professional confessionals’ and true crime”. Janklow & Nesbit’s Will Francis, meanwhile, spoke of how much the interest in non-fiction currently focuses on “forensic memoir and prisons”, and emphasised a significant trend in “sealed worlds”.

Across prison-set or themed titles, Adshead’s book is joined by Battles Against Hope by Andy West, who teaches philosophy in prison. Offers have been rolling in for the title, which is represented by Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge & White. Ebury has also said it will announce two prison-themed non- fiction acquisitions soon.

Francis applauded the “tremendous appetite” for non-fiction, adding that he believes international editors are taking note of UK successes more than ever. “It is a lot easier than in previous years to sell non-fiction internationally on the strength of a proposal,” he said.

Francis added that history and politics titles in this area continue to be of huge interest to editors and readers.

Currently the subject of a four-way auction is journalist Shon Faye’s polemical first book The Transgender Issue. Billed as “the seminal book on trans politics in the UK—imagine Reni Eddo-Lodge for trans politics”, the title is repped by Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander.

Another hot non-fiction title comes from novelist Samantha Harvey, a Betty Trask winner and Man Booker longlistee. Her first foray into non-fiction is The Shapeless Unease, an investigation of her 18-month struggle with crippling insomnia. UK and Commonwealth rights were sold this month to editor Dan Franklin at Jonathan Cape, in a deal negotiated by Anna Webber of United Agents. Webber’s United Agents colleague Jon Elek recently concluded a 10-publisher auction for Nell Frizzell’s In Flux, in which Transworld triumphed. The book is about the “panic years” around women having babies.

Agents Andrew Lownie and Madeleine Milburn

Flights of fiction

The picture for fiction is also looking bright, with fresh deals for literary titans such as Rose Tremain. Clara Farmer, publishing director at Chatto & Windus, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for Islands of Mercy in a deal negotiated by Caroline Michel at Peters Fraser + Dunlop (PFD). The agency’s international rights director Alexandra Cliff said that “there’s a definite strong trend for more literary fiction” among foreign publishers heading into next week’s fair. She added: “Editors are starting to look for more literary—even the editors who are more at the commercial end of the spectrum are starting to broaden their remit.”

This was echoed by many other agents who spoke to The Bookseller. “There is more hunger for literary fiction than I have seen for years,” Webber said, having worked on several significant deals in this area recently, including the six-figure deal for 26-year-old Beijing-born, Paris-based débutant An Yu’s Braised Pork, which went to Kate Harvey at Harvill Secker. Webber added: “The reactions I’ve seen to submissions in literary fiction have been really heartening, as has the level of financial commitment. People seem to believe in literary fiction in a way that I haven’t seen for a while—it is having some sort of renaissance”.

Webber noted a marked increase in deals for international writers in the literary sphere, reflected in notable recent deals for two Trinidadian writers’ débuts. BBC National Short Story Award 2018 winner Ingrid Persaud’s first novel, Love After Love, was snapped up by Faber after a seven-way auction, and will be a superlead for the indie in spring 2020. Zoë Waldie at RCW negotiated the deal, for UK and Commonwealth rights, with Faber editorial director Louisa Joyner. Fellow Trinidadian Caroline Mackenzie’s first novel, One Year of Ugly, described as “funny, fresh and unique story of family, home and first love”, went to Ann Bissell, publicity director and commissioner at The Borough Press. UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, were bought from Sue Armstrong at C+W following a three-way auction. Mackenzie’s book has also gone to S&S US, while TV rights went to Netflix.

Agent Madeleine Milburn echoed the sense of a strong appetite for literary fiction, having seen “a lot of buzz around more literary, Sally Rooney-esque fiction—and we’ve had a fantastic response to our speculative fiction”. However, Milburn did note there was still plenty of interest in the commercial side: she recently tied up a seven-figure deal for Transworld editor Lizzy Goudsmit’s “hypnotic thriller” Seven Lies, sold into 18 territories; and concluded a robust UK auction for Audible senior manager Robin Morgan- Bentley’s début thriller The Wreckage, which was bought by Phoebe Morgan at Trapeze.

Carole Johnstone’s psychological suspense début Mirrorland is another novel causing a buzz, having been fought over by eight UK publishers. Hellie Ogden of Janklow & Nesbit is handling the auction; her colleague Francis revealed that Mirrorland’s film rights were signed following a pre-empt from Heyday Films, a “very unusual move” which “caused publishers to sit up and take notice”. In terms of hot territories, agents are describing an uptick and “proactive attitude” from South-East Asia publishers. “It is great seeing how that market in China, South Korea and South-East Asia in general is interested,” Francis said. “Often the first deal after the UK deal is Chinese or South Korean, often even before US. These territories are leading the charge.”

Webber agreed: “The Asian market is thriving, and they buy things that you might be surprised by.” Summerhayes, too, highlighted China as being particularly responsive on upmarket and business-focused non-fiction while Copeland described Chinese companies as “very acquisitive, and still spending decent money”.

Eastern Europe has been stonger and more aggressive than in recent years, say many agents. Copeland’s client Greg Buchanan’s début, Sixteen Horses, was subject to attempted pre-empts in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the past week. Milburn agreed. “Our rights director, Liane-Louise Smith, has been seeing more movement in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, and far higher pre-empts from countries such as Italy and Spain,” she said.

Overall, agents appeared positive heading into the fair, despite the influx of political uncertainty and the earlier date of the fair. Summerhayes spoke of the more unpredictable nature of responses to submissions this year. “I generally don’t set deadlines when I send something out and this year it’s just been very, very fast responses—I got offers on a non-fiction proposal within four hours of submission yesterday.”

She added: “I am still excited by selling at the fair, though, and I think it’s important to see it as a fertile time and embrace the inevitable chaos [of next week’s fair].”