Doubleday pre-empts Syou's novel We'll Prescribe You A Cat

Doubleday has pre-empted the Japanese novel We’ll Prescribe You A Cat and its sequel by Ishida Syou.

The publisher said "the international buzz around this book has resulted in competitive offers in 11 languages within a week of submission". Doubleday deputy publisher Jane Lawson acquired world English language rights in two books in a pre-empt from Marina Penalva at Casanovas & Lynch on behalf of Emily Chuang at Emily Books Agency, and will publish the book in October 2024.

To date, the books are sold or at auction in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Holland, Poland, Hungary and Taiwan. US rights are handled by Catherine Wood, rights director at Penguin Random House UK, all other rights by Penalva and Chuang.

The book’s synopsis says: "Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling with their lives and who genuinely need help. The mysterious psychiatric centre offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication.

"Patients who take a cat home for a recommended duration experience a profound transformation. Through the playful, endearing, and occasionally challenging cats the power of the curative human-animal bond is revealed."

Lawson said: "We’re thrilled to bits to have snapped up this hugely entertaining novel, a major title in the arena of Japanese cat fiction, where Doubleday loves to play. There is genuine cat-love in this high-concept novel: the sharp characterisation, humour, pathos, poetry and magical plot are an irresistible combination and it is rare to see all of these working together with such warmth."