Duckworth secures rights to A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna

Duckworth has secured rights to A Splintering by Dur e Aziz Amna, the author of American Fever (Sceptre); American Fever won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and the South Asia Book Award.

Editorial director Clare Bullock acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Matthew Turner at RCW, and the book will be published as a demy octavo hardback in September 2025. Audio rights were sold separately to W F Howes.

Bullock describes the novel as "disquieting and utterly gripping" and said it is an "exploration of a complex and unforgettable character who will risk everything to carve out a life of her own".

The synopsis reads: "In a village in rural Pakistan, Tara is desperate to leave the petty life of the village and escape the iron grip of her violent, unpredictable brother. Marrying a middle-class accountant allows her to escape to the capital, but she soon finds that life as a respectable housewife still leaves her wanting more [...]. Her desire for wealth and freedom becomes an obsession. But can she truly shake her past and the menacing spectre of her brother, a reminder of the threads that tie her to the life she left behind?"

Bullock commented: "Tara demanded my attention from the first page; a complicated, knotty character, flawed and ambitious, she is quite unlike anything I’ve ever read. Dur e is an exceptionally talented writer; the sly and subtle way in which she writes about Tara’s ascent against the backdrop of class, politics and violence in Pakistan, a country the West understands so poorly, is extraordinary."

Amna, who was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022 and won the 2019 Financial Times/ Bodley Head Essay Prize, added: "I’m thrilled to work with the lovely team at Duckworth to bring A Splintering to readers around the world."