Indigo Press scoops 'exceptional' debut novel by John Murray editorial director Zigmond

John Murray editorial director Joseph Zigmond’s “exceptional” debut novel has been signed by The Indigo Press.

Commissioning editor Susie Nicklin acquired world rights in all languages from Anna Webber at United Agents. Constance will be published on 8th June 2023.

The synopsis says: "In the summer of 2006, a chance encounter on the London Underground finds 18-year-old Ali tagging along with a school friend and a mysterious girl to a club. The girl is Cece, and she seems to be everything Ali is not. For one night he is transfixed and transformed into someone who might belong. All he knows is he will remember it forever.

“In 2064, Ali takes his final flight out of the UK to Morocco, in a world upturned by climate collapse. He has a wife and a daughter, reasons to return. Yet Ali is willing to abandon everything to find Cece again, finally to recapture that long summer night when he was young, and to understand how the actions taken – and not taken - have changed all their lives."

Nicklin said: “Joseph has done something exceptional with Constance; he’s written a highly accessible and moving novel in which handles sensitive issues with care and courage. I loved reading this book and I’m sure it will find many readers for years to come.”

Zigmond commented: “Constance is a love story set amid teenage trauma, overpowering friendships and the mistakes that create obsession. I wanted the book to be a toxicology of young masculine culture, the silence that enables it, the victims created by it, and the line it exploits between shyness and cowardice. Above all, it’s about the unintended futures of our actions — and inactions.

“With their focus, flair and impressive publishing on these themes, Indigo have been the perfect home for the book — and I’m so excited to see what we can do with it together.”