Atom seizes Stranger Things writer Schneiderhan’s debut novel Medici Heist 

Atom, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, has snared Medici Heist, the debut novel from Caitlin Schneiderhan, a writer on Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Commissioning editor Olivia Hutchings acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Charlotte Bodman at Rights People, on behalf of John Cusick at Folio Jr/Folio Literary Management. Medici Heist will be a lead publication for Atom in 2024.

The publisher’s synopsis of the novel reads: “Welcome to Florence, 1517, a world of intrigue, opulence, secrets and murder. The Medici family rules the city from their seat of wealth but the people of Florence remember the few decades they spent as a republic, free from the Medicis and their puppet pope, Leo X.

“Sharp-witted 17-year-old con-woman Rosa Cellini has plans for the pope and the Medicis—and, more specifically, the mountain of indulgence money they’ve been extorting from the people of Tuscany. To pull off the Renaissance’s greatest robbery, she’ll recruit a team of capable misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. To top it all off, and to smooth their entrance into the fortress-like Palazzo Medici, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of famed artist and local misanthrope, Michelangelo.

 “Old secrets resurface and tensions in the gang flare as the authorities draw closer and the Medicis’ noose pulls tighter around Tuscany itself. What began as a robbery becomes a bid to save Florence from certain destruction—if Rosa and company don’t destroy each other first.

“Get ready for an absolute swashbuckling riot, beginning with a ‘mud’ pie to the pope’s face and ending with a climatic heist that would give Danny Ocean a run for his money. Bursting with snark, innuendo and action.”

Schneiderhan‘s work has placed in a number of screenwriting competitions, and her pilot “Breakfield” was the winner of the Austin Film Festival’s One-Hour Pilot competition. She has been named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch and has projects in development with multiple production companies around Hollywood.