Atlantic Fiction nabs a 'swaggering debut' about London's 'girl gangs'

Atlantic Fiction has nabbed The Kings Head, a "swaggering debut of conflict and camaraderie" by Kelly Frost, about a London gang known as the "Teddy Girls".

Joanna Lee acquired world rights from Ciara McEllin at Watson Little while she was Atlantic, and the book will be published in hardback on 6th February 2025 by James Roxburgh, the publishing director for Atlantic Fiction. 

"It’s 1957 and the Kings—Harry, Tony, Saint, the most fearless girls in N4—rule the bomb-struck streets of Finsbury Park," the synopsis says. "The war is over but the real battle’s just begun, as Harry, their unpredictable, prideful, dangerously charismatic leader, decides that the Seven Sisters Road should be theirs too. But this is territory owned by the Sisters, a rival North London gang, and not easily given up." 

Atlantic Fiction said: "Kelly’s writing is as sharp and glittering as the flick-knives her protagonists carry, and her novel is one of the most energetic and forceful debuts we’ve encountered for an age. We can’t wait to publish The Kings Head and we’re delighted that it’s our gang that Kelly’s chosen to join."

Frost added: "For me, London’s girl gangs were always missing from the bookshelves, and I hope that the Kings, the Sisters, and all the punches they throw, the insults they lob, and their unforgettable fashion, goes some way to remedying that omission."