Hutchinson Heinemann signs ‘sensuous’ second novel by Booker-longlisted Zhang

The second novel of C Pam Zhang, author of the Booker Prize-longlisted debut How Much of These Hills is Gold (Virago), has been signed by Hutchinson Heinemann.

Ailah Ahmed, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Land of Milk and Honey from Peter Straus at RCW on behalf of Bill Clegg at The Clegg Agency. Sarah McGrath at Riverhead, PRH, will publish in the US. Hutchinson Heinemann will publish in September 2023.

In 2020, C Pam Zhang was longlisted for the Booker Prize for her first novel, How Much of These Hills is Gold. The same year, she was named a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” Honoree. 

Land of Milk and Honey follows a chef who is lured to a decadent, enigmatic colony of the super-rich in a near future in which food is disappearing, discovering the meaning of pleasure and the ethics of who gets to enjoy it – altering her life and, indirectly, the world. It is described by the publisher as “a delicious, striking and sensual novel about food, sex and the intricacies of desire and longing".

Zhang said: “Land of Milk and Honey, which began as a pandemic project, taught me a great deal as a writer. It’s a very different novel from my first, and its writing was pure pleasure, a little aperture to joy when the world felt bleak and narrow.

“This book examines female ambition, the construction of identity, and the politics of the plate; but it is first and foremost a love letter to the body: its delights, its possibilities, and its capacity to connect us to a world that, for all its flaws, remains full of rapturous wonders. Ailah is an incredible champion; I’m so pleased that she and Hutchinson Heinemann will introduce this book to readers.”

Ahmed said: “I completely devoured Land of Milk and Honey. This novel set alight my brain, my heart and my senses. When Pam describes decadent shortcakes, you can taste them as you read. When she depicts a colony of rich people, led by a shadowy Elon Musk-type figure, you’re completely immersed in a future that is on our doorstep. 

“When she writes about the chess game of forbidden love and the lengths that we go to to try and translate ourselves to others, the novel steps into its power and becomes truly beautiful and poignant. Pam made a real impact with her Booker-longlisted debut and in Land of Milk and Honey she has gone from strength to strength.”