Bloomsbury Children's snaps up 'vital' YA debut by Katouh

Bloomsbury Children’s Books has signed the debut YA novel by Zoulfa Katouh, "a love letter to Syria, Syrians and hijabi girls" that has been picked up in a flurry of auctions and pre-empts worldwide.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is set during the Syrian revolution, and follows Salama Kassab, a teenager who comes to see the events around her for what they truly are – not a war, but a revolution – and must decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

Hannah Sandford, senior commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and the Philippines, at auction from Alessandra Birch on behalf of Alexandra Levick at Writers House. Bloomsbury will publish As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow in the UK in hardback in September 2022, with Australia and New Zealand publishing simultaneously in paperback.

Writers House has already seen "phenomenal international interest" for the debut, with 12 publishers already confirmed through auctions and pre-empts. US rights were pre-empted from Alexandra Levick at Writers House by Ruqayyah Daud, assistant editor at Little, Brown and it will be published there in hardback in September 2022. 

Sandford said: "Zoulfa is an incredible new talent whose passion pours from the page. As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is so vital, so full of hope and power. It’s going to be a heart-changing read for a lot of people."

Katouh said: "As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is my love letter to Syria, Syrians and hijabi girls who rule their own lives. It’s also a written testimony to a bewildered world on what is actually happening in Syria, because what is seen is usually only the aftermath—the refugees. I wanted to give a voice to the voiceless, talk about our love for our country and how no one wants to be a refugee. I wanted to write a classic—a book that educates, inspires and makes readers want to change the world. And with those thoughts, I opened my laptop and wove a novel where hope rises from the ashes."