Late night pre-empt secures Gutierrez's 'remarkable' literary suspense for PMJ

Penguin Michael Joseph has acquired the literary suspense novel More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez after a late night pre-empt made within 24 hours of reading the manuscript.

Publisher Joel Richardson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, in the novel from Susan Armstrong at C+W, on behalf of Hillary Jacobson at ICM. North American rights were pre-empted by Jessica Williams at William Morrow, and translation rights have already sold in six further languages. The book is set to be published in summer 2022.

The novel, set in Texas and Mexico, begins when true-crime obsessive Cassie stumbles across a case from 30 years ago – that of a successful businesswoman and mother of two whose double life came crashing down when one of her two husbands shot the other.

Gutierrez is a freelance writer, whose work has appeared widely including in The Washington Post, and she has an MFA from Texas State University. She said: "I’ll never forget the whirlwind day that culminated in the late night call with Joel, whose thoughtful and enthusiastic response to the book moved me to tears. I couldn’t be happier that the novel is in Joel’s hands at Penguin Michael Joseph."

Rights have also been sold to Euromedia (Czech Republic), in a pre-empt; to Flammarion (France), at auction; to Arab Cultural Center (Lebanon), in a pre-empt; to Meridiaan (the Netherlands), in a pre-empt; to Urano (Spain), at auction; and to Ikar (Slovak Republic) by Sophie Baker at Curtis Brown UK.

Richardson said: "Fittingly for such a remarkable book, this was an acquisition story like no other. I read this in one sitting, finishing in the early hours. Katie had a day of editorial calls with American editors the next day, so we weren’t able to speak until almost midnight, and we managed to close the deal almost exactly 24 hours after I finished reading.

"This book is wonderful. It’s a gripping mystery written with such insight on marriage, motherhood and storytelling, and it’s also a truly beautiful love story too. I can’t wait to publish it."