Hodder lands ‘mesmerising’ fantasy trilogy from Gong 

Hodder & Stoughton has landed three books from bestselling author Chloe Gong.

Senior commissioning editor Molly Powell acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Laura Crockett, agent at Triada US. The first instalment, Immortal Longings, will be published in summer 2023 and will mark Gong’s adult fantasy debut. Hodder & Stoughton will also be publishing the first in Gong’s new young adult fantasy duology in autumn 2022, Foul Lady Fortune.  

Immortal Longings continues Gong’s interest in reimagining Shakespeare’s plays by a reconfiguring of "Anthony and Cleopatra" in a 1990s Asian-noir fantasy world in which former princess Calla Tuoleimi joins a deadly city-wide competition in order to remove her uncle, the king, from his throne, and makes a precarious alliance with her fiercest competition. Hodder & Stoughton previously published These Violent Delights, a dark retelling of "Romeo & Juliet".  

Gong is a New York Times bestselling author originally from New Zealand, previously a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

Powell commented: “Chloe is a dream to work with, and her novels are spectacular: rich, sumptuous stories that play ruthlessly with your heart. Mesmerising, intricate and dexterously plotted, Immortal Longings has all the hallmarks of her brilliant writing, and is an assured step into adult fantasy, which will more than satisfy her current readers while exciting a whole new audience.”  

Gong added: “It has been a joyous ride putting These Violent Delights and its subsequent books out into the world with Hodder. I’m so excited to have the same home in the UK for Immortal Longings as my adult fantasy debut. The support from my team behind the scenes and from my readers cheering for the books has been amazing.”