'Insightful' debut on familial love to HoZ imprint Apollo

Head of Zeus imprint Apollo is to publish Stories We Tell Ourselves, a debut novel from French-British author, Sarah Françoise.

Helen Francis, commissioning editor at Apollo acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the title from Emma Finn at Conville and Walsh.

Set in the French Alps as a family at breaking point comes together to celebrate Christmas, Stories We Tell Ourselves is an exploration of the thorniness of familial love and its capacity for endurance, written with warmth, wit and honesty.

Francis said: "I was struck by the quality of Françoise's writing. This debut is an insightful gaze into the complexities of family relationships, poignant and intelligent in equal measure."

Finn said: "I'm delighted to see Sarah find such a passionate editor in Helen at Apollo and very much looking forward to seeing her launched in style next Spring. I fell head over heels for Sarah's writing from page one and her talent and skill in unpicking the complexities of family life and love were a joy to discover."

Françoise is a French-British writer and translator who lives in New York with her daughter. Her writing has appeared in journals and magazines including Joyland, BoneBouquet, Hobart and Poor Claudia.

She said: "I'm over the moon that this story is becoming a book, and I can't imagine a better home for it than Apollo".

Stories We Tell Ourselves will be published by Apollo in March 2018, priced at £14.99.