Doubleday lands English language debut from Lewis

Doubleday has landed the English language debut from two-time Wales Book of the Year author Caryl Lewis.

Commissioning editor Alice Youell acquired world rights, including audio, from Anwen Hooson at the Bird Literary Agency in Drift and a second novel. Drift will be published in hardback in spring 2022

The synopsis states: “Drift is a powerful, richly atmospheric novel about a young Welsh woman and a Syrian mapmaker who washes up on her beach. It’s a love story with a difference that feels both current and timeless, enrichened with magic and mystery, about the meeting of two souls existing on the fringes, out of place and in search of home.”

Youell said: “I was mesmerised by Drift and its haunting, unforgettable characters. It is a book that surprises and delights from start to finish, and Caryl’s prose is as hypnotic as the sea whose rhythms – and tempers – provide an irresistible backdrop. This is a story about personal and cultural identity lost and found, and the transcendent power of kindness. What better time for that than now? We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Caryl to the Doubleday list and honoured to be launching her English-language debut next spring.”

Lewis is a multi-award-winning Welsh novelist, children’s writer, playwright and screenwriter. Her 2004 breakthrough novel Martha, Jac a Sianco (Y Lolfa) is widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature and is on the Welsh curriculum. The film adaptation, with a screenplay by Lewis herself, went on to win six Welsh Baftas and the Spirit of the Festival Award at the 2010 Celtic Media Festival. Lewis’ other screenwriting work includes BBC/S4C thrillers “Hinterland” and “Hidden”.

Lewis said: "I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Doubleday and to be debuting my first English-language novel. I can’t think of a more joyful thing to be doing in these uncertain times. I’m incredibly excited to be starting on this new chapter in my career."