John Murray pre-empts Cailean Steed's 'breathtaking' fantasy novel in six-figure two-book deal

John Murray has pre-empted Cailean Steed’s "utterly absorbing" fantasy, The Mirror Halls, in a six-figure, two-book deal.

Editor Charlotte Robathan pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Oli Munson at AM Heath, for publication in 2026. US rights were pre-empted by Helen O’Hare, executive editor at Little, Brown US.

"The Mirror Halls follows the recently widowed Toby, who becomes obsessed with finding the drowned village of Call, deep in the Scottish Highlands, where legend says a traveller may find the thing they have lost," the synopsis says. "As Toby grows closer to Call, she discovers that there is also a curse – and that everyone who has gone looking for the village has been met with death and disaster. Toby’s search leads her to Jude, who is fleeing her own tragedy; and Ash, the apprentice custodian of the mysterious Mirror Halls, where each mirror leads to someone’s dream. The three come together at the drowned village, where what they think they are looking for is not what they find."

Robathan said: "The Mirror Halls is a masterful blend of high-concept fantasy, magical realism, horror and ancient mythology, which reimagines what it means to dream, to die… and, therefore, to really live. It is at once an exploration of mortality and an intricate mystery with the pulse of a thriller. With fully-fledged characters to charm you, and a spellbinding universe to get lost in, this is a story that endures far beyond the turning of the last page."

O’Hare added: "From its electric first lines – in which an unexpected break-in upends a mother’s life forever – I was spellbound by The Mirror Halls, desperate to know what would happen to the women of this breathtaking novel. Taking readers from our world into the lush Scottish Highlands and soon into another realm altogether, Cailean Steed is masterful with emotion, suspense and character, and their ability to explore grief and loss alongside the power of love, dreams and stories to reshape our lives moved me deeply."

Steed said: "Charlotte and Helen’s enthusiasm for the story just bowled me over, and I can’t think of two people better suited to shepherd it to publication."