S&S Children's raises Rogerson's 'spirits of the dead' duology

Simon & Schuster Children’s Books is to publish Vespertine, an "epic" YA fantasy duology by Margaret Rogerson.

Vespertine is set in a world where the dead can rise. The synopsis states: "Artemisia is a girl with special powers—she is part of an order trained to defend the world against the restless spirits of the dead—until she is possessed by an ancient spirit herself."

The first book in the duology, Vespertine, will launch in hardback on 28th September 2021 from Simon & Schuster Children’s Books in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US, with a global marketing and publicity campaign. The paperback will follow in January 2022 in the UK, with the second title publishing in hardback in autumn 2022. Lowri Ribbons, fiction editor, bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights in a two-book deal from Stephanie Voros, rights director at Simon & Schuster US.

Ribbons said: "Margaret is undoubtedly one of the most talented writers in YA fantasy, and I was immediately captivated by Artemisia’s tense and thrilling story. Margaret is a huge star in the US, and we plan to build her to bestseller status here in the UK, too, where we strongly believe she has the potential to be the next 'Big Thing' in commercial YA fantasy."

Rogerson’s previous books include Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens. Through Nielsen BookScan's UK TCM she has sold 8,897 books for £84,896, excluding lockdown weeks. Sorcery of Thorns has sold 3,091 copies in hardback.