HoZ wins three-way auction for 'sparkling' Ali-Afzal debut

Head of Zeus has won a three-way auction for the “sparkling” debut novel by Aliya Ali-Afzal.

Laura Palmer, publishing director for fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment for Would I Lie to You? and a further novel. The book will be published in September 2021 in hardback, e-book and audio.

The novel is billed as “a tense, page-turning and funny debut, starring Faiza, a Wimbledon yummy mummy who must hide the fact she's spent the family's savings when her husband Tom loses his job”.

Palmer said: “This is just the kind of novel I adore – the prose is sparkling, the observations funny and wry, and the plot is so gripping the pages turn themselves. But most of all I loved Faiza, whose resourcefulness, pluck and love for her family shines through everything she does. I know readers will love her too.”

Ali-Afzal commented: “I am so happy and excited about working with Laura. I was thrilled at the way she connected with Faiza and had such affection for her. The passion, energy and enthusiasm of the whole team absolutely won me over. My brilliant agent, Juliet, has been such a great support at every single step of this journey and has found the perfect home for my work.”

Mushens added: “The pitch and passion from Head of Zeus blew me away – this book is a pacy, commercial page-turner that you’ll long to discuss with everyone you know, and I’m certain this is just the start of a bright writing future for Aliya.”