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Chatto & Windus has signed actress and playwright Phoebe McIntosh’s debut novel Dominoes, “a tender, smart, conversation-starting love story" which explores questions of identity and the legacy of the slave trade in 21st-Century Britain.
World all languages rights were bought by deputy publishing director Becky Hardie from Amy St Johnston of Aitken Alexander Associates, for publication in June 2023. Jane Kirby, rights director, has sold US rights to Andrea Walker, executive editor at Penguin Random House USA.
The publisher’s synopsis reads: “When Layla and Andy first meet, they can’t believe they share ‘McKinnon’ as a surname. It feels like fate, almost too romantic to be true. But Sera, Layla’s best friend, has her doubts about Andy. As the pair fall deeper and deeper in love, Sera becomes more and more vocal about Layla settling down with a white boy. And then, only a few weeks before their wedding, Layla discovers that the reason behind their shared surname might not be so romantic after all.
“What seemed like a fairytale romance is rapidly derailed. In part propelled by Sera’s rising anger, Layla begins to uncover parts of her history and identity that she never could have imagined, or — perhaps — had simply learnt to ignore.”
McIntosh, who took part in Penguin Random House’s WriteNow programme, said: “This story originated as a one-woman show, but there was always something telling me in the back of my mind that it needed to be more, that the relationships and experiences it depicts had room to grow and that each of the main characters could live and breathe in their own right and had something important to say.
“I am incredibly excited that Dominoes has found a home at Chatto where it has already been so lovingly nurtured by Becky. Both she and my agent, Amy St Johnston, have encouraged and challenged me to reflect deeply on the different strands of the story and the characters’ relationships to one another.
“I am also very grateful to Andrea Walker whose instant connection with the novel blew me away. Dominoes couldn’t have found a better home in the US than with Random House. It is my hope that readers connect with Layla’s story, which is one of family, love, friendship and finding out who we are and where we fit into the world around us."
Hardie said: “We fell instantly for this smart, funny and searching novel about Layla’s struggle to reconcile past, present and future. Pulled in one direction by Sera, and in the other by Andy, she must find her own way in a changing social and political landscape. Luckily, she has her glorious grandad Roy to help her. He’s one of the best characters I’ve read in many years, and is indicative of just how finely balanced Phoebe’s writing is. Pitched perfectly between comedy and seriousness, and with real emotional pull and heft, we are so proud to be publishing Dominoes and welcoming Phoebe to Chatto and Vintage.”