Picador bags short stories and novel from Mary South

Picador has bagged a satirical short story collection and novel from US writer Mary South.

Editor Ansa Khan Khattak acquired UK & Commonwealth rights from Harriet Moore at David Higham on behalf of Cynthia Cannell at Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency. You Will Never Be Forgotten will be published on 6th August 2020, with the as-yet untitled novel to follow in spring 2022.

The publisher said: “You Will Never Be Forgotten is a collection of stories featuring characters who use technology to escape their uncontrollable feelings of grief or rage or despair, only to reveal their most flawed and human selves. South’s forthcoming novel is set in a near future when women have begun to turn into household objects, narrated by a young woman who observes these changes while working at a hospice for the ultra-wealthy.”

South is a graduate of the MFA program in fiction at Columbia University and has worked as an editor at the literary journal Noon.

She said: “Picador is the home of Lucia Berlin, as well as many other writers I admire, and I couldn't be happier that they will be publishing my collection of stories and novel in the UK. These stories have been private labours for several years, and I feel very lucky that they will be introduced to the public with such attention and care.”

Khattak added: “What I love about Mary South is her ability to take our reality and skew it slightly. You Will Never Be Forgotten is a collection of brilliant, original, satirical stories that explore how human emotions persist under surreal conditions, and her forthcoming novel promises to be just as excellent. Her writing has exactly the kind of imaginative flair and commitment to exploring how we think, feel and behave as people that I find so exciting. I’m delighted that she will be joining the Picador list.”