McCulloch's mountain thriller debut to PMJ in six-way auction

Penguin Michael Joseph has acquired a "unique" and "chilling" debut thriller, Breathless, from mountaineer and former Puffin editor Amy McCulloch, in a two-book deal, following a six-way auction. 

The book is set on Mount Manaslu in Nepal, which earned itself the nickname "killer mountain" as the eighth highest mountain in the world and one of the most dangerous. McCulloch herself has reached the summit and it is also where she wrote a few lines of the book. While "richly researched", Breathless centres on a young woman who must battle not just the elements, but also a killer who has made this deadly territory their own.

Publisher Joel Richardson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment in a six-figure deal after a six-way auction. North American rights were sold at auction in a "significant" six-figure deal to Ed Kastenmeier, editorial director at Anchor Books, and Lara Hinchberger at PRH Canada, by Jenny Bent on behalf of Mushens. German rights sold in a six-figure deal at auction, and Dutch rights were pre-empted, with further sales already in Swedish and Russian.

"Breathless is the story of Cecily Wong," reads the book's synopsis, "a journalist who finds herself on an expedition to climb one of the world’s tallest – and most dangerous – mountains. But Cecily soon realises that there could be a killer hiding in plain sight within her team – and when you’re this high up, there’s no place to hide."

McCulloch has already written eight novels for children and young adults, including YA novel The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow with Zoe Sugg. Breathless is her adult fiction debut. Before becoming a full-time writer, she was editorial director for Puffin and was a Bookseller Rising Star. In September 2019, she became the youngest Canadian woman to climb Mount Manaslu in Nepal. She also summited the highest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua, in -45C and 90mph winds, and has visited all seven continents.

The book will be a lead thriller launch for Penguin Michael Joseph, publishing in hardback, e-book and audio in early 2022, with a paperback to follow.

Richardson called McCulloch's debut "a really special thriller. It’s full of wonderfully claustrophobic suspense with a killer hiding amongst a small group of people, but that classic formula is made totally fresh by its extraordinary setting, which no one but Amy could have written," he said. "Meeting her on Zoom and hearing her stories from the mountain was genuinely fascinating, and I can’t wait to bring her brilliant books to the widest possible audience."

McCulloch said: "I’m delighted to have found the perfect home with Penguin Michael Joseph – its enthusiasm for my debut adult novel blew me away. I actually wrote a few lines of Breathless in the death zone (at 8,053m to be precise) on Manaslu – because when inspiration strikes, you can't ignore it! I can’t wait to offer the world a glimpse into the thrilling world of high altitude mountaineering."

Mushens said: "Amy’s mountaineering adventures are always fascinating to hear about – so to marry the dangers of the setting (low oxygen levels, weather conditions, avalanche risks) with the discovery that there is a murderer on the mountain, makes for an incredibly gripping read."