Indie Novella snaps up Raymond's debut novel about his grandmother

Indie Novella has snapped up Martin Raymond’s debut novel Lotte, the story of his grandmother Lotte Raymond and his "unspoken family history". 

Damian Mosley, publisher and executive director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights directly from the author. The novel, which was longlisted for the Watson Little x Indie Novella Prize, will be published on 2nd September 2024. 

The synopsis reads: "At a kitchen table in 2017, a man mentions briefly to his father-in-law that his grandmother was on the list of deaths at Bellsdyke Asylum. In Stirling, 84 years after the death of Lotte, Martin, a writer, takes out the buckled yellowing notes of The 1933 Journal of Dr J Fergusson from the National Archives, and starts to read. Under the long shadow of the Great War and the looming threat of another conflict, Lotte and Fergusson are trapped by fate, ambition, and the illusion of choice."

Lotte is a "story of grief, anger, loss and the shocking and shameful attitudes to mental health" the publisher said.

Mosley said: "I had a conversation with [Raymond] after the Watson Little x Indie Novella Prize and he told me the full story behind Lotte and it blew me away. I suggested some edits and when he sent me his draft, I absolutely loved it."