Hodder & Stoughton lands ‘breathtaking’ debut by MacRae

Hodder & Stoughton has signed And Now the Light is Everywhere, a family mystery, and one other novel, from debut author L A MacRae.

Commissioning editor Lily Cooper acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Holly Faulks at Greene & Heaton. And Now the Light is Everywhere, an earlier draft of which was longlisted for the Caledonian Novel Award 2021, will be published on 2nd January 2024 in hardback, audiobook and e-book.

In And Now the Light is Everywhere, the MacArthur family have long accepted that beautiful, elusive Netta boarded a ship for Canada after the war, leaving behind her young son Donnie, never to be seen again. Until 50 years later, when Netta’s granddaughter Anna accidentally pulls a loose thread in the story of her grandmother’s fate that causes this story to unravel.

Cooper said: “Both a breathtaking mystery and a beautifully written examination of love and the stories we tell ourselves to survive, And Now the Light is Everywhere marks the arrival of a very special talent. With luminous prose and page-turning plotting, Lucy’s writing put me in mind of Maggie O’Farrell and Emma Stonex, but with a deeply felt story that is all her own. The early responses from fellow writers to this novel have been tremendous, and I cannot wait to publish it next year.”

MacRae said: “I’m absolutely delighted that And Now the Light is Everywhere has found a perfect home with Lily Cooper at Hodder. Right from the beginning, the enthusiasm and insight Lily has shared with me has made working together an absolute joy and I am greatly looking forward to sharing my story with readers.”