Coronet to publish Graham Norton’s 'most ambitious' novel to date

Coronet has snapped up Graham Norton’s fifth novel, Frankie.

Publisher Hannah Black bought world rights from Melanie Rockcliffe and Amanda Harris at YMU, and the book will be published on 12th September 2024, in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio that Norton will narrate.

Graham will be undertaking a nationwide theatre tour to celebrate the publication of the book, with tickets going on sale on Friday 22nd March.

"Frankie is an immersive, decade-sweeping story that brims with Graham’s trademark heart, intelligence and compellingly written characters," the synopsis says. "The novel takes us from small-town, conservative Ireland in the 1940s to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York, via London, and tells the story of Frankie Howe, who has never been the leading lady in her own life."

Norton’s books have sold 603,558 copies in the UK, with his bestselling title, A Keeper (Coronet), having sold 126,296 copies. 

"This is probably my most ambitious book to date and I’ve loved following Frankie’s extraordinary journey through life," he said. "It’s the story of a woman who survives and even thrives despite everything that is put in her way. World, please meet Frankie."

Black added: "I await Graham’s new scripts with the sweetest anticipation, and here in Frankie we are gifted with one of his most compelling protagonists. Using a life lived to tell a story that encompasses key cultural touchstones from recent history, Graham takes his readers on a journey in which we meet both real and imagined characters from the world of art, food and theatre."