Arthur legend to be reimagined by Miller and Wheeler

Penguin Random House Chidren’s has bought the UK and Commonwealth rights to Cursed, a reimagining of the King Arthur legend for a YA audience, by comic book artist Frank Miller and writer and producer Tom Wheeler.

Cursed is told through the eyes of Nimue, a teenage heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the Lady of the Lake. After her mother’s death she finds an unexpected partner in Arthur, a young mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver Excalibur. Miller (pictured) and Wheeler are also co-producing a TV series, based on the book, with Netflix.

Commissioning editor Tig Wallace struck the deal for the UK book with Siobhan O’Neill at WME, on behalf of Dorian Karchmar and Jamie Carr. WME has also closed publishing deals in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Poland and Portugal.

Miller said: "I have always been entranced by the mythological Arthur story — and by Nimue, in particular. It can be interpreted in any number of ways — from a delightful children’s story, as in The Sword in the Stone, to a terrifying interpretation like Excalibur. This tale represents an incredible opportunity and an exciting challenge for me as an illustrator, and I’m excited to collaborate on the story with Thomas Wheeler. I inherited a collection of antique children’s books from my mother, and I’ve always wanted to have a crack at it myself. This project is a dream come true.”

Wallace added: “Cursed has everything you could want in a new fantasy novel, from a richly textured world and set of characters to a thrilling, action-packed plot. We’re excited to welcome the hugely talented Tom and Frank to the Penguin Random House family, and look forward to working with our US partners and the team at Netflix to bring this story to audiences everywhere in 2019.”

Cursed will publish in the UK on the 3rd October 2019 in a special edition hardback and simultaneous paperback.