Sphere takes Hollywood screenwriter's survival space thriller to FBF

Sphere has acquired a blockbuster survival thriller and love story set in space called Across the Void by S K Vaughn. It is the "biggest" submission Sphere is taking to Frankfurt Book Fair 2017, the imprint said.

The book is written under a pseudonym by a Hollywood writer-director with credits at Universal, Paramount, Sony, Fox, and Lionsgate, but the real identity of the author is not yet being revealed.

Its plot follows May Knox, extrovert astronaut and only survivor of a catastrophic accident that has killed her whole crew and left her ship drifting helplessly in the void. There is only one person who can help her – her bookish ex-husband Stephen, a NASA scientist who was heading up the operation back on Earth. Until, that is, she broke his heart and he left both her and the mission.

World rights excluding the US and Canada to Across the Void were acquired by Sphere editorial director Ed Wood through Sam Morgan at Foundry, and the title will be the"biggest" Sphere is taking to Frankfurt Book Fair 2017. Translation rights are being sold by the Little, Brown UK rights team, US and Canadian rights by Sam Morgan of Foundry, and film and TV rights by Brad Mendelsohn of Circle of Confusion.

Noting the success of two Ebury Fiction titles, The Martian and The End of the World Running Club, which made science fiction fans of everyday readers, Wood said he had "high hopes" that Across the Void would have the same cross-over potential.

“Across the Void is all set to be a crossover hit, stunningly combining SF thrills with a meaningful, touching love story that leaves you rooting for May and Stephen at every turn. It’s a true read-in-one-sitting ride,” he said.

It publishes with Sphere in hardback in summer 2018.