Atlantic Books snaps up Phillips’ ‘transfixing’ historical debut novel Lightborne  

Hesse Phillips’ “transfixing” historical debut novel Lightborne has gone to Atlantic Books.

Karen Duffy, head of campaigns and associate publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth volume, serial and audio rights plus translation rights from Brian Langan of Storyline Literary Agency. It will be published spring 2024. Langan retains North American and broadcasting rights.

The synopsis to the novel, which was a winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair in 2022, reads: “In teeming Elizabethan London, Kit Marlowe tumbles towards an early and violent death. In Marlowe’s world, to question the authority of the queen, or her church, is to risk torture and public execution. Those who dare to live and love freely, or put their unorthodox thoughts on stage in the form of vicious, spiked poetry, as Marlowe does, walk with peril.

“Marlowe’s downfall, from celebrated playwright, friend of Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd to outcast fugitive, hunted by scheming spies such as the diabolical Robin Poley, is swift and brutal. Ultimately, his last hope is the other beating heart of this story, Marlowe’s biggest fan turned bodyguard turned lover turned murderer, the unforgettable Ingram Frizer. Through Frizer and Marlowe Lightborne tells a story of love and betrayal that feels modern in so many ways, making for an exceptional début novel."

Phillips said: “Lightborne is a labour of love born out of years of research, writing and rewrites, and I’m immensely honoured that it’s found a champion in my agent Brian Langan and now a home at Atlantic Books. Karen and her team have the kind of vision and passion for this story that every writer dreams about, especially a debut author like myself. I couldn’t have hoped for a better group of people to bring Kit Marlowe and his world to life.”

Duffy added: “He’s loud, he’s lofty, he’s queer: he stands out in a crowd whether he means to or not. But in the bustling theatres and inns of the city he loves, as his former bedmates and fellow spies shrink away to protect themselves, Marlowe finds relief, furtive love and a last ally in the unlikely shape of the anxious, vulnerable, confused Frizer. 

“Their short, torrid time together and the forces that conspire to bring it to an end are grippingly animated by Hesse Phillips in this roaring, racing drama of a novel, which all of us at Atlantic believe is sure to be regarded as one of the great débuts of its year. I am so proud and happy we are publishing it.”