Faber feasts on 'mouthwatering' horror debut from Summers

Faber has scooped A Certain Hunger, the debut "feminist body horror" novel from Chelsea G Summers. Commissioning editor Libby Marshall acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Nicola Barr at the Bent Agency.  

"Dorothy Daniels has always had a voracious – and adventurous – appetite," the synopsis reads. "From her idyllic farm-to-table childhood (homegrown tomatoes, thick slices of freshly baked bread) to the heights of her career as a food critic – white truffles washed down with Barolo straight from the bottle –  Dorothy has never been shy about indulging her exquisite tastes – even when it leads to her plunging an ice pick into her lover’s neck.

"There is something inside Dorothy that makes her different from everybody else. Something she’s finally ready to confess. But beware: her story just might make you wonder how your lover would taste sautéed with shallots and mushrooms and deglazed with a little red wine."

Marshall said: "A Certain Hunger is succulent, mouthwatering and absolutely horrifying all at once. I fell in love with Chelsea’s writing immediately, and I’m so proud to be bringing this slice of feminist body horror to readers in the UK. We can all learn something from Dorothy Daniels’s approach to life (and death)."

Summers is a former academic and professor. Her work has appeared in Vice, Fusion, Hazlitt, the New Republic, Racked and the Guardian, among others. 

"While writing A Certain Hunger, I whispered ‘bidding war’ to myself — and then my book amassed more than 25 rejections from American publishers," she said. "To have Faber, one of the world’s great indie presses, publish my novel feels like a vindication. I have the utmost respect for Faber’s catalogue of superb authors, and I am truly honoured to be among them." 

A Certain Hunger will publish in paperback in July 2022 following its US publication in December 2020.