Doubleday pre-empts Korean Cheon Seon-ran's prize-winning One Thousand Blues

Doubleday has pre-empted Korean prize-winning bestseller One Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran.  

The pre-emptive deal for world rights excluding China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Germany was made by deputy publisher Jane Lawson with Barbara J Zitwer at the Barbara J Zitwer on behalf of East Asia with Eric Yang Agency as publishing co-agent. Emily Hayward Whitlock of TAP is film/TV co-agent. Doubleday will publish in hardback, e-book and audio in spring 2025. 

Doubleday said: “One Thousand Blues won a prestigious science-fiction prize in Korea [4th Korea Sci-fi Literature Award] and became an instant bestseller. A hymn to the earth, a plea to slow down, to pay attention to our earth, it is set in the near future, and tells how a young woman befriends a faulty robot and together set out to rescue an exhausted racehorse on its way to be euthanised. It is perfect for fans of Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun."

Lawson said: “I’m thrilled to be publishing such a rising star whose prizewinning novel blends imagination, message and exquisite characterisation, all rooted in a sensibility that understands the value of our natural world.” 

Born in 1993, Cheon Seon-ran is a graduate from Anyang Arts High School and has a master’s degree in creative writing from Dankook University. She is the author of several novels and short-story collections and lives in Seoul.