Raven wins drinking game thriller on pre-empt

Raven Books has pre-empted a thriller, Never Have I Ever, about a drunken game which goes wrong from US author Joshilyn Jackson.

Never Have I Ever will be published as a Raven Books super lead in 2019 following the pre-empt from Alison Hennessey, editorial director at the Bloomsbury imprint.

Hennessey acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada to the title from Meredith Kaffel Simonoff of DeFiore & Company. North American rights were sold by Caryn Karmatz Rudy of DeFiore & Company to Emily Krump, at William Morrow in a major deal.

“It starts as a drunken game at a book group one night”, reads the synopsis. “Never Have I Ever is a brilliantly tense cat and mouse game centring around suburban mum, Amy Whey, and Roux, the glamorous stranger who arrives one night knowing Amy’s darkest secrets, despite Amy’s juvenile records being long sealed. Roux promises she will leave without telling any of Amy’s friends or family her past if Amy pays up. But Amy is not prepared to lose everything she has built and prepares to fight back. In this game, there can only be one winner.”

Hennessey said: “I don’t think anyone at Bloomsbury would have forgiven me if I hadn’t acquired Joshilyn’s novel: this was a book that had everyone reading and talking about it. One of the sharpest, twistiest books I’ve had the joy of reading, Never Have I Ever offers readers not one, but two smart, determined female protagonists who are so evenly matched you have no idea who will ultimately triumph - or how."

Jackson, who is based in Georgia, said: “I am so excited to be working with Alison Hennessey, an incredibly talented editor whose enthusiasm for the book just blew me away. And to be on the Raven Books list with all of those smart, dark, twisty, beautifully written books—I’m thrilled that Never Have I Ever has found the perfect UK home.”

The author also narrates audiobooks and teaches creative writing inside Lee Arrendale State Prison, Georgia's maximum-security facility for women.