Gallery YA acquires Juno Dawson’s dystopian thriller

Gallery YA, imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s, has acquired Survival Show: DOLLHOU5E, Juno Dawson’s "rich" and "dramatic" YA dystopian thriller.

Publisher Yasmin Morrissey acquired world all-language rights to two titles in a six-figure deal from Sallyanne Sweeney at MMB Creative, following an exclusive submission. Survival Show: DOLLHOU5E will be published in a high-spec hardback, with e-book and audio to come simultaneously in 2026.

"Welcome to the New Alliance – a reimagined world after the war, after the flood," the synopsis says. "Taryn Beck and her family live in a camp beyond the Scottish border. They don’t have much, but Taryn will always have her voice. At night, around the campfires, she sings. With her 14-year-old brother’s vital medication rationed, Taryn secretly enters Network G’s reality show: Starmaker – the most watched tv show in the world. It’s simple; kids compete to join an all-singing, all-dancing pop outfit, DOLLHOU5E. If you win, a life of luxury and stardom awaits [...] There’s only one catch. Eliminated contestants are killed – sorry, volunteered to Project Population."

Dawson said: "This is the novel I was born to write. It’s all of my favourite things in one book: girl groups, pop music, reality TV, dystopia, satire, queer characters. As soon as I met the Simon & Schuster team, they fully shared my giddy enthusiasm for both Taryn’s story, and the concept of a beautifully designed collector’s item."

Morrissey added: "Inimitably Juno, Survival Show: DOLLHOU5E is a flawless blend of expert worldbuilding, gripping characters, dark humour and a thrilling plot that moves at breakneck speed. Honestly, I simply can’t stop thinking about it, and we are beyond proud to be Juno’s new home for her YA publishing."