Fourth Estate nets 'dark and magical' debut from Matthews in two-book deal

Fourth Estate has acquired the debut novel from Bath Novel Award shortlistee Jodie Matthews. 

Katie Bowden, editorial director, secured UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada but with exclusive Europe and audio, to Meet Me At The Surface, from Olivia Maidment at Madeleine Milburn Agency in a two-book deal. Meet Me At The Surface will publish in spring 2024.  

It is described by the publisher as a “page-turning, horror-tinged mystery and a moving tale of love and loss that explores dysfunctional friendships, fractured families, isolation and the experience of being queer in a small village on the windswept Cornish moors”. 

It tells the story of Merryn, who has grown up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the decaying village, fear for the future of their farms and cling to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history. Except Merryn, who has escaped to Manchester for university, briefly untethering herself from her past. 

When Merryn returns home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, she finds the place stranger and more secretive than ever. The villagers are hunting something on the moors at night, but what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore than seems to be linked somehow to Claud. 

Bowden said: “I read Meet Me At The Surface in one fevered sitting and fell completely in love with this dark and magical story, imbued with Cornish folklore, that draws the reader instantly into a tangled web of family secrets, first love and grief. Jodie Matthews is an incredibly inventive, exciting new voice in fiction and everyone at Fourth Estate is delighted that we will be publishing her first novel.” 

Matthews added: "I’m so happy to be joining Fourth Estate with my debut Meet Me At The Surface. I wanted to write a novel that explored a different side to Cornwall, and specifically Bodmin Moor, where I grew up, a place of stark beauty that is steeped in folklore and history. I can’t wait for readers to meet Merryn, Claud and the women of Trewarnen. The past few months have been so exciting, and I feel very lucky to have be working with Katie, who’s immediate enthusiasm and vision for the novel blew me away, and to have had the support of my wonderful agent, Olivia Maidment.”