HarperVoyager spellbound by cosy fantasy trilogy by Quercus publishing director Anne Perry

Rachel Winterbottom, publishing director for HarperVoyager and Magpie Books, has acquired cosy adult fantasy romance Stay for a Spell, plus two sequels, by Anne Perry, publishing director at Quercus, writing under the pseudonym Amy Coombe.

Rights in the UK and Commonwealth, excluding Canada, were acquired from Maddy Belton at Madeleine Milburn, with the first book scheduled for spring 2026. NA rights were sold to Anne Sowards at Berkley in a major deal.

Winterbottom said: "All book lovers understand the urge to be ‘cursed’ to live in a bookshop. Anne has written a gloriously warm, witty and heartfelt ode to the magic of books. Readers are going to have their hearts stolen by the dashing, pesky pirate Bash and this gorgeous, heart-warming hug of a novel."

Perry said: "I’m beyond thrilled to be published by Rachel at HarperVoyager; it’s genuinely a dream come true. I knew from the moment I first met Rachel and heard the Voyager team’s ideas for publication that the book had found its perfect home: a place where cursed princess, hexed spiders and cats who are actually sitting three feet to the left of where you think they are, can live their very best lives."

Belton said: "A perfect delight, and total joy, this book is the most incredible cosy treat. Anne’s writing had me kicking my feet and laughing out loud on every page and I am so excited to see it reach readers and publish with Rachel and the brilliant Voyager team."

Perry is a publishing director at Quercus and heads the Arcadia imprint. She is also the founder and director of the literary award The Kitschies, an award-nominated and sometimes-winning blogger, and her short fiction and non-fiction has been published widely. This is her debut novel.