Sphere scoops Hazelwood's TikTok hit The Love Hypothesis

Sphere has scooped debut author Ali Hazelwood's TikTok hit The Love Hypothesis in a three-book deal.

Darcy Nicholson, editorial director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights for The Love Hypothesis, Love on the Brain and Love Theoretically. Rights were acquired from Tawanna Sullivan at Penguin Random House US.

The first book, published last week in the US, became an instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller and its hashtag has had 14 million TikTok views. The e-book publishes on 27th September in the UK with paperback and audio formats out in October. 

It tells the story of Olive, a PhD student trying to convince her best friend she is loved up. The blurb says: “So, she kisses the first guy she comes across and of course that guy is Adam Carlsen, a young hot-shot professor and well-known ass. Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion…”

Hazelwood said: “I am so excited for my book to come to the UK.”

Nicholson added: “The Love Hypothesis is pitch-perfect; it is funny, gloriously predictable and also wholly surprising. Not only has Ali written an excellent fake dating romcom but she has set it in the world of academia – finally the spotlight is on the science geeks and they are really delivering. I can’t wait for readers to discover the story that has TikTok going wild.”