Hutchinson Heinemann unveils Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel about the '80s space shuttle programme

Hutchinson Heinemann will publish bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere, a novel about the1980’s space shuttle program. 

Hutchinson Heinemann publishing director Ailah Ahmed has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Julian Alexander at The Soho Agency, on behalf of Celeste Fine and Abigail Koons at Park & Fine Literary & Media. The book will be published in hardback, e-book and audio on 5th June 2025.   

The Cornerstone imprint said: "From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes a new novel about the 1980’s space shuttle program and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits."

The synopsis reads: "In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin; mission specialist Lydia Danes; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer.  

"As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant."

The publisher said: "Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars."

The Los Angeles-based author said: "I am thrilled to be publishing Atmosphere with Hutchinson Heinemann. I have long wanted to tell a sweeping, romantic love story and I am incredibly excited to share this new book with readers in June."   

Ahmed says: "Atmosphere is the greatest love story in the universe. It is gripping, heartbreaking, elegant and exquisitely written. I cannot wait for fans to read it."

Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six (all published by Hutchinson Heinemann) and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Simon & Schuster UK).