Michael Joseph flips for rom-com début

Michael Joseph has snapped up "heart-warming and funny rom-com debut" The Flip Side by James Bailey. 

MJ editor Rebecca Hilsdon acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in two books from Hannah Ferguson at Hardman & Swainson. US rights were bought by Tessa Woodward at William Morrow. Dutch, Italian and Serbian rights have been pre-empted by HarperCollins Holland, Garzanti and Laguna respectively, and sold at auction to Droemer Knaur in Germany. Rights have also sold to L’Archipel in France and Alexandra in Hungary. 

The novel follows Josh, recently broken-hearted, deciding to put his faith in fate and spend a year flipping a coin to find both himself and "The One". 

Hilsdon said: "I am thrilled to be publishing James’ debut this year. From the pitch perfect first chapter to the very last, I was swept up by Josh’s romantic and heartfelt plight. James effortlessly delivers page after page of warmth, wit and humour, making this just the book I’ve been waiting for."

Bailey added: "It still feels surreal to think that Penguin will be publishing my debut novel. I am absolutely delighted that Rebecca loved The Flip Side so much, and I’m so excited to work with her and the whole team at Michael Joseph. I feel honoured that my book has found a home at such a prestigious imprint alongside some of the country’s best loved authors. To also be published by William Morrow in North America, and for my novel to be translated into multiple languages, is simply incredible."

Bailey is an alumnus of the Curtis Brown Creative Writing course and currently lives in Bristol.