Pan Macmillan celebrates Riley's final book with family in attendance

Pan Macmillan celebrated the publication of Lucinda Riley’s final book Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, the last in her Seven Sisters series, at Fitzrovia Chapel last week with Riley’s family in attendance.

Harry Whittaker, Riley’s son, co-wrote the novel following Riley’s death in 2021 after a four-year battle with cancer. Whittaker said: "Lucinda, and her Seven Sisters, will be dancing in the Pleiades. The response from readers around the world has been beyond anything I could ever have expected, and I am hugely proud to share the top spot with my best friend and hero, my Mum. Thank you to the team at Pan Macmillan, who have been nothing short of stars themselves."

Also in attendance at the event were a "group of superfans" who had travelled from Iceland, Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands. Actor Richard Armitage, the narrator of the audio edition, recorded a message for the event alongside an exclusive reading from Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.

According to the publisher, Riley’s books have been translated into 35 languages and have sold 1.9 millions books for £12.6m through Nielsen BookScan. Following an "extensive" campaign for Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, the novel debuted in the Original Fiction number one and claimed second in the Top 50, The Bookseller reported yesterday.

Publisher Lucy Hale said: "Pan have been proud publishers of Lucinda Riley’s wonderful The Seven Sisters series, since 2014. To see the final book in the series, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, reach the top of the bestseller lists in the UK, and all around the world, is a great tribute to Lucinda. It is also a richly deserved acknowledgement of Harry, who completed the series with a truly outstanding book which has given Lucinda’s millions of loyal readers the conclusion to this beloved series that they have been patiently waiting for."