Headline signs new saga author Glenda Young

Headline has acquired a new saga author, Glenda Young.

Senior commissioning editor Kate Byrne acquired world English rights in three books from Caroline Sheldon at the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.  

In the first novel, Belle of the Back Streets, 15-year-old Meg finds herself taking on the rag and bone business in Ryhope to protect her family from an unscrupulous rent collector. Headline will publish in paperback in March 2019.

Sheldon said "several publishers" shared her enthusiasm for the book after she plucked it from an "overflowing" pile of submissions, but she and Young chose Headline for its "clear publishing vision and obvious passion for the writing".

Byrne at Headline said: "I knew Belle of the Back Streets was something very special right away. Glenda has a gift for portraying a fantastic sense of period with vivid historical detail and creating engaging, nuanced characters – Meg is a wonderfully strong and resourceful heroine and I know readers will be rooting for her amidst the drama, tragedy and romance of her page-turning story."

Young's background is in soaps. She was commissioned to write the first ever soap opera "Riverside" for weekly The People's Friend. Since 2007 she has run two "Coronation Street" fan websites and she also authored a number of books based on the soap.

She commented: "I am indebted to my agent Caroline Sheldon and my editor Kate Byrne at Headline for their belief in my work – and in me. Ever since I was a girl all I have ever wanted to do was write and tell my own stories. I am extremely grateful to Headline for finally making that dream come true and I am very excited to be working with them."