Premiership Psycho to Corsair

Nicola Barr from the Susijn Agency has sold what could turn out to be a particularly apposite novel: a reworking of American Psycho with a Premier League footballer.

James Gurbutt at Corsair has bought World English rights to Premiership Psycho by C M Taylor. The novel asks what the original American Psycho Patrick Bateman would be if he were around now. Taylor's answer is footballer "Kev King", who wins "silverware for the trophy cabinet" while "leaving in his wake a trail of bloodshed".

Barr said: "It's a very funny but also serious satire of contemporary Britain, a commentary on celebrity, sport, shopping, sex, media and violence. It is a novel for everyone who loves football, and everyone who hates it."

Taylor is a journalist who has been published in the national press, including the Guardian and the Telegraph.

Corsair will publish Feb 2011. Barr is handling translation rights.