HarperCollins' new digital imprint nets first adult title from Reekles

HarperCollins’ new digital division, One More Chapter, has snapped up the debut adult fiction title from bestselling YA author The Kissing Booth, Beth Reekles.

Charlotte Ledger, editorial director, acquired UK and Commonwealth acquired rights to It Won’t Be Christmas Without You from Clare Wallace at the Darley Anderson Literary, Film and TV agency. It will be published in e-book on 30th August. One Chapter More was unveiled by HarperCollins last month.

It Won’t Be Christmas Without You follows “two sisters, Eloise, a self-confessed Christmas obsessive, and Cara, her workaholic twin, who battle gorgeous but grumpy neighbours, work commitments and a whole lot of snow to celebrate Christmas like they always have,” according to HarperCollins.

Ledger said: “I must have watched 'The Kissing Booth' on Netflix over a 100 times so of course I jumped at the chance to help Beth reach new readers with her first book in the adult fiction genre. It Won’t Be Christmas Without You is everything you could want from a Christmas book – down-to-earth relatable characters, lots of fun and a heart-stopping romance – and I’m thrilled to be publishing it this autumn.”

Reekles added: “I live for Christmas, so this was a very exciting way to make my first foray into the world of adult fiction. It's been wonderful to work with my new editor Charlotte at HarperCollins and I can't wait to share this new story with everyone.”

The Kissing Booth, which Reekles wrote when she was 15, went on to have more than  19 million reads on Wattpad, sold into 12 languages, was adapted for Netflix and subsequently described by the platform as ‘one of the most watched movies in the world right now’ after its release last summer. The author was also included in Time Magazine’s ‘Top 16 Most Influential Teenagers 2013’ and the Times’ ‘Top 25 Under 20’ in summer 2014.