Hutchinson Heinemann signs ‘pulse-quickening’ novel by award-winning Healey

Hutchinson Heinemann has acquired Sweat, a “pulse-quickening” new novel from Emma Healey, whose debut Elizabeth Is Missing (Viking), won the Costa Book Award for Best First Novel.

Ailah Ahmed, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Karolina Sutton at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Hutchinson Heinemann will publish in January 2025.

Sweat is described as a literary thriller following a woman named Cassie as she is catapulted into a game of cat and mouse with her ex-partner and ex-personal trainer Liam. “It is an enthralling exploration of the dark side of the fitness industry and set in world that is rarely explored in fiction,” the publisher says.

Healey said: “I wanted to write a novel that was fun and exciting, but also tackled darker themes, drawing on my own experiences, obsessions, and body issues. Sweat is about physical and psychological power, and what happens when someone decides to fight for control. I’m incredibly grateful to be working with Ailah, and to be published by Hutchinson Heinemann, which encourages brave narratives that help both writers and readers explore tough and important subjects.”

Ahmed said: “From the moment I read the opening scene of Sweat I was completely hooked into the disturbing trap that Cassie seems to set up for Liam. These are characters of extremes, with shocking backstories, secrets, and tons of unpredictability. Healey plays with the highs, joys, hypocrisy and addictive nature of fitness and the industry around it like no other writer. Once I finished the novel, I couldn’t look at a gym or runner in the same way again without questioning their compulsions and motivations – including my own.”