Europa nets Powell's 'extraordinary' debut at auction

Europa Editions UK has secured Karen Powell's "extraordinary" debut novel at auction.

Director Christopher Potter has acquired rights for two titles from Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann following a two-publisher auction. As well as UK and Commonwealth, Potter bought rights North America, Canada and Italy “such was the strength of our feelings and commitment”. Europa will publish the first novel, The River Within, in 2020.

“I was bowled over by the poetic intensity of this extraordinary novel,” Potter said. The River Within is as evocative of place and landscape as any novel I can think of. I believe The River Within will immediately find its place as a classic in a tradition that includes the novels of Thomas Hardy and Graham Swift.”

Powell said: “I am delighted to be working with an editor of Christopher’s calibre and with Europa Editions – they’re passionate champions of European literary fiction and the quality of their list is ridiculously good.”

Powell left school at 16, but returned to education as a mature student to study English Literature at Cambridge University. She lives in Yorkshire, and an early draft of ‘The River Within’ was awarded a Northern Writers’ TLC ‘New Fiction Reads’ prize, which seeks to support work-in-progress by new, emerging and established writers across the North of England. She subsequently attended the ‘New Writing North’ Summer Talent Salon in 2018, where she secured agent representation from Hodder.