Faber to release Rooney's third novel Beautiful World, Where Are You, in September

Booksellers have expressed excitement at the news that Sally Rooney's third novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, will be out from Faber this September.

The publisher will release two special editions for Waterstones and independent bookshops.

Publisher Alex Bowler acquired UK, Commonwealth and audio rights in a two-book deal from Tracy Bohan at the Wylie Agency. Knopf will publish in Canada and Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US. 

Described as "a book of friendship and sex, art and faith, power and love", Beautiful World, Where Are You tells the story of Alice and Eileen, two best friends nearing their thirties in different places and on very different trajectories.

The synopsis reads: "As the summer approaches, they exchange emails about art, friendship, the world around them and the complicated love affairs unfolding in their own lives. They say they want to see each other again soon. But what will happen when they do?"

Bowler said of Rooney's new novel: "It absorbs you once again in the inner lives of characters with brilliant minds and aching hearts, while marking the next creative leap from a singular writer. The book scintillates with intelligence, empathy and, yes, beauty."

Nic Bottomley, owner of Mr B's Emporium in Bath, said: "Readers and bookshops alike are going to be keen for as many great books to look forward to as humanly possible in 2021 and that a new book for the early autumn from the author behind two of the most widely-loved contemporary novels of recent times, is fantastic news for all.  Particularly great that Faber are planning an indie bookshop special edition too."

Kate Skipper, c.o.o. of Waterstones, added: "Beautiful World, Where Are You is set to be the most eagerly-anticipated book of the Autumn, for readers and booksellers alike. Sally Rooney justly won legions of fans with her novels Conversations with Friends and Normal People, skilfully capturing the voice of a generation. I cannot wait to read Beautiful World, Where Are You, to immerse myself in the new characters and world that Sally has created with her rare talent. The prospect of Sally’s third novel being published later this year is a truly delicious one. What a welcome treat for 2021!"

Slated for release on 7th September, Faber will publish in hardback, export trade paperback, e-book and audio, and will release two special editions tailored for Waterstones and for independent bookshops. 

Rooney was the winner of the Sunday Times/Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award in 2017. In 2018, Conversations with Friends was shortlisted for both the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize, while Normal People was named Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, Waterstones Book of the Year, the winner of the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize. Rooney then won the Encore Award for Normal People in 2019, and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the television adaptation of Normal People, which broadcast on the BBC in 2020 to huge acclaim. 

Rooney's books have sold 874,179 copies for £7m via Nielsen BookScan's TCM in the UK, excluding lockdown-era sales. Her bestseller is Normal People, which was one of the top 20 bestselling books of last year.