Legend Press bags Hill's debut novel inspired by being fostered

Legend Press has signed Checking for Snipers by Fran Hill, a debut novel inspired by her own experience of being fostered as a young teen.

Cari Rosen, commissioning editor, acquired world rights direct from the author, for publication in March 2023.

The publisher said: “Fran Hill takes us on a funny and poignant journey through the eyes of Jackie Chadwick, a 14-year-old would-be poet who is newly-fostered by the Wall family. Set during the heatwave summer of 1976, Checking for Snipers deconstructs the concept of a middle-class nuclear family and forces the characters to reassess what really matters.”

Hill was permanently fostered at the age of 14 and left school at the age of 16. She then trained as a medical secretary in the NHS before going back to evening school at age 38 to achieve the highest mark in the UK for English A-level that year. She went on to gain a first-class English degree at university, followed by a PGCE in secondary English, and then changed her career to teaching. Fran now lives with her husband in Leamington Spa.

She is the author of memoir Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? (SPCK) and a self-published novella. Checking for Snipers is her first full-length novel.

Hill said: “Checking for Snipers began as a scene written during lockdown in response to a prompt: the colour yellow. In the scene, a teenager is shown around her new and startlingly yellow bedroom by an anxious foster mother. At first, I wrote from the foster mother’s perspective but when I changed to the girl’s, out leapt Jackie Chadwick with her sarky voice and acute observational skills. I am thrilled that Legend Press has taken Jackie on board too and offered to publish my story about sibling rivalry, family secrets and the power of mercy.”

Rosen commented: “There’s something very special about a book that can make you laugh – a lot – but also move you to tears. Fran Hill has struck the perfect balance and, in Jackie Chadwick, has created a wonderfully smart, wry and observant protagonist with a fresh and memorable voice. Funny and poignant, Checking for Snipers is a truly glorious novel which we can’t wait to share with readers early next year.”