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Fiona Valpy’s women's historical fiction, The Dressmaker’s Gift, has sold in nine territories in an international rights frenzy.
Published in October 2019 by Amazon Publishing imprint Lake Union—which holds world English language rights—the book scooped the number one spot on Amazon Chart’s most sold fiction list and became a Kindle number one. Now, the book has sold in nine territories: Denmark (Cicero), Holland (Meulenhoff), Israel (Kinneret), Italy (Newton Compton), Norway (Cappelen Damm), Poland (Swiat Ksiazki), Portugal (Topseller), Russia (AST), and Slovenia (Ucila)—with a further offer on the table in Turkey.
Madeleine Milburn rights director Liane-Louise Smith and junior rights agent Georgina Simmonds, who negotiated the deals, said they have had "strong interest" from several other territories, and expect more offers imminently.
The Dressmaker’s Gift is "a gripping historical women’s fiction novel set in Paris about three young women who learn to survive history’s darkest era" according to the publisher's synopsis.
Smith said: “The response to The Dressmaker’s Gift has been extraordinary. Publishers have really taken this story to heart and we’ve been amazed by the response. We have no doubt that there’ll be many more offers to come, and we’re looking forward to seeing this wonderful novel published in so many languages.
Valpy's first novel, Sea of Memories (Lake Union), has been translated into 15 languages. Her second novel, The Beekeeper’s Promise (Lake Union), hit number one in the Australian Kindle charts and was shortlisted for the RNA Goldsboro Books Historical Romantic Novel Awards.