Former bookseller signed by Sceptre

Former Waterstones bookseller Anne Griffin has landed a book with Sceptre after a four-way auction for All That I Have Been. Emma Herdman, editorial director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the “heartbreaking love story”, and a further title, from Louise Buckley at The Zeno Agency.

The novel centres on 84-year-old Irish farmer Maurice Hannigan, who has “trusted few but loved deeply”. Herdman said: “I read the submission overnight and haven’t stopped thinking or talking about it since. Anne is a wonderfully talented author and I can’t wait to launch her career.” The Bookseller Daily understands that the novel was submitted to the agent on a Friday, accepted on the following Monday, and had offers from multiple publishers within days.

Griffin has worked as a bookseller at Waterstones branches in Dublin and London, and won the 2017 John McGahern Award for Literature. Her short stories have been shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and the Sunday Business Post Short Story Competition, among other prizes.