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Fourth Estate pre-empts new novel by All Girls author Layden
Fourth Estate has signed a new novel by All Girls (St Martin’s Press) author Emily Layden in a pre-emptive deal.
Editorial director Katie Bowden pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights to Once More from the Top from Victoria Hobbs at AM Heath on behalf of Lisa Grubka at Fletcher & Co (now UTA). North American rights have been sold to Katherine Nintzel, v.p. and executive editor at Mariner, HarperCollins.
Once More from the Top, which will be published in June 2024, is described as an "ambitious, page-turning second novel about music, friendship, coming of age and the cost of fame, for fans of Megan Abbott and Daisy Jones and the Six (Hutchinson)". The synopsis says: "Dylan Read, a legendary country-music pop star, has spent 15 years growing up in the public eye, learning to craft the perfect good girl image.
"But Dylan is privately haunted by the loss of her best friend Kelsey, who went missing the year before Dylan’s meteoric rise to fame. When Kelsey’s body is found at the bottom of a New England lake where they grew up, Dylan is drawn back to her home town to revisit their ill-fated teenage friendship and reckon with secrets that have stayed hidden for decades."
Bowden commented: "Once More From The Top has it all: a deeply compelling mystery, talented young women grappling with ambition and competition, a small town where everyone has something to hide and a complex and gripping portrait of an artist at the height of her fame.
"Emily Layden is an utterly thrilling talent and we could not be prouder or more excited to bring her to Fourth Estate."
Layden added: "I’m happy to partner with Fourth Estate in bringing Dylan Read and her music into the world. From our first conversation, Katie and her team have wowed me with their passion for this story and its ideas about friendship, ambition and creativity.
"I’m so grateful to have such enthusiastic and thoughtful collaborators, and so humbled to be published alongside Fourth Estate’s deeply talented writers."
