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Pan Mac launches extensive campaign for Riley's Seven Sisters finale
Pan Macmillan has launched an “extensive” campaign for Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, the final novel in the late Lucinda Riley’s bestselling Seven Sisters series, co-written by her son.
A cover for the book was revealed by the publisher this week and promises a “stunning, unforgettable conclusion” to the saga. The new book opens in Paris, 1928, and will reveal how the sisters came to be adopted by their beloved, mysterious father Pa Salt.
Riley passed away in 2021 from cancer and Atlas has been co-written by her son Harry Whittaker. Together they had previously co-written the Guardian Angels series for children, published by Macmillan Children’s Books.
The new book will be published in the UK on 11th May 2023 alongside Riley’s publishers in translation. Pan Macmillan is planning an extensive marketing and publicity campaign to capture the attention and imaginations of existing fans and new audiences. Activities will include a variety of interactive activities to draw readers into the hunt for the identity of Pa Salt, a huge launch event to celebrate the book’s publication and Riley’s legacy, plus an “unmissable blockbuster advertising campaign”.
Whittaker said: “I must tell you that the novel itself is epic. It spans a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans. Perhaps Lucinda’s greatest achievement is that no one has correctly identified the secret driving force behind the series – and there have been thousands of theories. Atlas will reward those who have loved the novels since the beginning, but there is a new story to tell, too (although it’s always been there, hidden quietly among the first 4,500 pages). Perhaps all I’m doing is removing the smokescreen… Working on Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt has been the challenge and privilege of a lifetime. It is Lucinda Riley’s parting gift, and I am so excited to deliver it. On May 11th 2023, the whole world will know just who Pa Salt is and why he adopted the sisters.”
Pan Macmillan says it has sold more than 5.5 million copies of Riley’s books around the world. The last book in the series, The Missing Sister, sold nearly 500,000 copies, the publisher said, and was a number one bestseller in hardback and paperback in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Riley said: “For Harry to finish off this hugely successful series – and to do it so brilliantly with this spectacular final book – must be one of the greatest writing achievements in contemporary publishing. My hat goes off to him.”
Lucy Hale, Pan publisher, added: “We at Pan are incredibly excited to be publishing Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt. Lucinda and Harry have crafted the perfect ending to the multi-million copy selling Seven Sisters series and we are inviting readers across the world to join us on the journey to the final episode. Everything will be revealed on 11th May 2023, globally, in a spectacular way!”
