Goudsmit's Seven Lies nets 23 rights deals in two months

Transworld editor Lizzy Goudsmit’s “hypnotic thriller” debut Seven Lies has sold in 23 territories within two months.

Written under her pen name Elizabeth Kay, the novel tipped into the multi-million pound territory in February, through a significant six-figure deal with Sphere and a further deal worth an undisclosed seven figure sum.

Now the Transworld commissioning editor’s first book has sold in 23 territories altogether through a number of auctions and pre-empts, repped by the Madeleine Milburn Agency.

The agency's rights director Liane-Louise Smith, who joined in January, revealed there had been significant interest globally, including in countries which appeared less responsive to UK thrillers. Most recently the book - described by Milburn as a "a seductive, hypnotic thriller" - has sold at auction in Croatia, Estonia and for Complex Chinese rights with pre-empts in Norway and Iceland.

"Actually in all five of these territories we’ve been finding it slightly more challenging to place psychological thrillers, either because the markets are smaller and therefore editors have to be very selective about the books they acquire, or they have traditionally had a stronger market for other genres," Smith told The Bookseller. 

"Given this, it is a testament to the strength of Elizabeth Kay’s Seven Lies that we’ve placed it in 23 territories... and at a record rate. It’s not often that we manage to get so many international deals so quickly."

She added: "We’ve also had interest in several other territories so I’m sure the number of deals will continue to grow.”

Goudsmit, who began her career as an assistant at Penguin Random House, explores the “toxic secrets bubbling beneath” behind a friendship, with publication scheduled in the UK and US in 2020.

“If lies are dangerous then the truth can be catastrophic,” the synopsis reads. “Jane and Marnie have been inseparable since they were 11 years old. In their early 20s they fell in love with and married handsome young men.

"But Jane never much liked Marnie’s husband. He was always so loud and obnoxious, so much larger than life. Which is rather ironic.

"Because if Jane had been honest – if she hadn’t told those lies – then perhaps her best friend’s husband might still be alive.”

If the book continues to sell as strongly internationally, it could vie for the record of the largest number of global deals for an unpublished thriller. Alex Michaelides' debut The Silent Patient (Orion) sold to 25 territories within three months of signing the UK deal, before clinching the www.thebookseller.com/news/rcw-nets-record-number-deals-debut-thriller-885091">record number for a UK thriller pre-publication, with 37 international deals.