Hodder Studio pre-empts two from debut author Amanda Block

Hodder Studio has pre-empted two books from Amanda Block, including her debut The Lost Storyteller, which will be published in July 2021 in hardback, e-book and audiobook.

Editorial director Sara Adams acquired world rights from Jo Unwin at Jo Unwin Literary Agency.

The Lost Storyteller is billed as a novel of family secrets, the magic of forgotten fairy tales and the power of imagination. It will follow Rebecca, whose father Leo disappeared when she was just a child. All she knows about him is he was once a beloved children’s TV star, but her family have told her little else. Then Rebecca discovers a book of fairytales written by Leo dedicated to her. Each tale contains a clue as to who Leo is, what he went through and, crucially, where he might be now.

Adams said: "I’m thrilled to be publishing Amanda’s beautiful novel next year. The Lost Storyteller is dark yet uplifting, mesmerising and immediately powerful. I’ve been completely swept up in Rebecca’s journey, and Leo’s fairytales. It’s a novel of hope, and love, and it explores the importance of stories, and the way storytellers communicate their hardest realities through make-believe."

Block commented: "I’m beyond delighted that The Lost Storyteller has found its home in Hodder Studio. I’m so grateful to my wonderful agent Jo, and it’s been such a pleasure working with Sara, whose passion and vision for the novel so closely matches my own. The Lost Storyteller celebrates creativity and empathy – both of which feel more important now than ever before – and I hope it can offer readers a little escapism, and nostalgia for the stories of their own childhoods."

Photo credit: Krisztiàn Kriss