Angry Robot to publish Heuler's fantasy novel The Splendid City

Angry Robot has acquired world English and audio rights to The Splendid City by Karen Heuler, in a deal made with Christine Cohen of Virginia Kidd Agency.

The synopsis reads: "In the state of Liberty, water is rationed at alarming prices, free speech is hardly without a cost, and Texas has just declared itself its own country. In this society, paranoia is well-suited because eyes and ears are all around, and they are judging. Always judging. This terrifying (and yet somehow vaguely familiar) terrain is explored via Eleanor, a young woman reconciling herself to the notion of finally having friends she can relate to – she’s learning about magic and joined a coven. But being a white witch is not as easy as they portray it in the books, and she’s already been placed under ‘house arrest’ with a letch named Stan, a co-worker who wronged her in the past and now exists in the form of a cat. A talking cat who loves craft beers, picket lines, duping and ‘shooting’ people. Closest to Stan’s heart is making money, which he does through uploading videos to social media. But Eleanor has no time for Stan and his shenanigans, because she finds herself helping another coven locate a missing witch."

The Splendid City will be published on 12th July 2022. Gemma Creffield, editor, said: "I couldn’t help but fall in love with this book. It connected with me straight away. I adored the sly humour, the sprawling mystery and the relatable – albeit fantastical – characters throughout. Karen does a brilliant job of keeping the reader on their toes, continually questioning what is and what isn’t real."

Heuler commented: "Angry Robot’s love of magical, rule-breaking fiction is the perfect place for my exiled witch and gun-toting, taco-loving cat. It's a little bit like reaching Oz!"

Heuler is a literary sci-fi/fantasy author and has written many short stories which have appeared in magazines and anthologies. She has also written several novels including In Search of Lost Time (Aqueduct Press, 2017) and Glorious Plague (Permuted Press, 2013). She teaches fiction writing at NYU’s School of Professional Studies.