HarperCollins Children's wins 10-way auction for Williamson's fantasy debut

HarperCollins has won a 10-way auction to a “dark academia” YA fantasy duology by debut author and translator S F Williamson.

A Language of Dragons was considered a “book of the fair” at this year’s Bologna Book Fair. The duology is part of a major UK and US co-publication collaboration.

World English-language rights for the two-book deal were bought by Tom Bonnick, editorial director for fiction at HarperCollins UK and Erica Sussman, v.p. and publishing director at HarperCollins US, from Lydia Silver and Becca Langton at the Darley Anderson Children’s Book Agency. Multiple translation rights were also sold at auction and in pre-empts by Kristina Egan at DACBA.

The first novel is slated for publication in the UK and US in hardback in January 2025, with the sequel to follow in January 2026.

HarperCollins said: “Set in an alternative 1920s with a rigid class system and dragons on every corner, A Language of Dragons is a rich fantasy about language, loyalty, love and redemption. 

“With the linguistic fascination of R F Kuang’s Babel [HarperVoyager], the historical tension of Code Name Verity [Farshore] and the thrumming social anger of Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series [Del Rey], A Language of Dragons is filled with state secrets and hidden languages and shining with rebellion. Welcome to Bletchley Park with dragons.” 

Williamson has a degree in French and Italian, and A Language of Dragons is inspired by her work as a literary translator. A graduate of Bath Spa University’s Ma Writing for Young People programme, she now lives in France with her husband.

Williamson said: “Becoming a published author has been a lifelong dream of mine and I’m thrilled to be part of HarperCollins’ YA list. I can’t wait to share Viv and my dragons with the world.”  

Bonnick said: “From the moment I started A Language of Dragons I knew that it was something incredibly special – an extraordinary work and one of the most exciting debuts that I’ve ever read. The world that Steph has created and the story she tells is immersive, original and utterly unputdownable. I’m delighted to welcome Steph to our YA list, and to be publishing what will be the YA launch of 2025.”

Sussman said: “A Language of Dragons breathes fire with its immersive setting, bold characters and a world I’ve never quite seen before. I can’t wait for our US readers to read this high-flying debut.”