Jessie Sylva's cosy fantasy debut goes to Orbit

Orbit has bagged How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days, the debut cosy fantasy novel from Jessie Sylva. 

Editorial director Jenni Hill acquired world rights from Maeve MacLysaght at Copps Literary for publication in spring 2025. Associate editor Tiana Coven acquired in the US. 

"If magic, longing looks, and quite a lot of baked goods are your recipe for a happy ending, you’re going to fall in love with this book", said MacLysaght.

Pitched for readers of cosy fantasy, "goblincore" and "cottagecore", How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days follows halfling Pansy and goblin Ren who believe they have inherited the same cottage and make a deal: they will live in there together and whoever is driven out first forfeits their claim. The pair begin to fall in love, but must learn to trust each other when their communities are threatened by a common enemy. 

Sylva said: "I am delighted that How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days has found such an amazing home with Orbit. Over the years, they have published so many of my favourites, and it’s a dream come true to know that this cosy, mossy little book will stand among them. I can’t wait to work with Jenni and Tiana on Pansy and Ren’s story, knowing that they love these two as much as I do.”

Hill added: "Jessie’s writing is beautiful, and effortlessly conjures up the ’cottagecore’ fantasy of living in a cosy, moss covered cottage somewhere deep in the woods, where you could bake bread and grow flowers and magical herbs all day… and where you might find love in the most unexpected of places.”