Cathy Cole signs a two-book deal with Orion

Award-winning writer Cathy Cole has signed a two-book deal with Orion.

Publishing director Leodora Darlington acquired world English language rights to two books from Katie Fulford at Bell Lomax Moreton, in a two-book deal.

Orion will publish the first mystery, The Wedding, in March 2026 in paperback, e-book and audio. The Island, set to be published in 2027, won the Owned Voices Novel Award.

“The Wedding follows Jenny, whose picturesque wedding at the lighthouse in her Irish hometown is ruined by the discovery of a dead man on the cliffside. A man who looks identical to her new husband. What follows is a twisty mystery that unpacks who the man is, and which of the wedding guests killed him.”

Cole is a novelist, prize-winning short story writer, and Pushcart nominated poet who lives, along with her husband and youngest son, in a picturesque seaside town that straddles the border between Northern and Southern Ireland.

Darlington said: “Having first read Cathy’s work when she submitted for the Owned Voices Novel Award, I’m so thrilled to get to publish these brilliant books. Cathy writes vivid characters in brilliantly head-scratching mysteries, always with a little spark of humour and buckets of suspense in the page-turning writing. I can’t wait to bring her books to a new audience.”

Cole said: “As a writer I’m intrigued not so much by the whodunnit as the whydunit. What drives a person to do the unthinkable: to lie, murder, maim or torture another human being? Characters, like real people, are multi-dimensional: normal, flawed individuals.

“They need a reason to act the way they do and I love delving into my characters psyche to find those reasons. The first time I spoke to Leodora, I knew she felt the same way, which is why I am absolutely delighted to be working alongside her and her fabulous team at Orion Fiction on my next two novels: The Wedding and The Island.”

Fulford said: “I’m so delighted that Cathy has found the perfect home for her wondrously atmospheric and twisty thrillers in the stellar team at Orion fiction. When I first read Cathy’s writing as one of the judges in the Owned Voices Award, I knew I had to sign her and it’s so wonderful to see her published by the founder of that award, the brilliant Leodora Darlington.”