Little Island signs ‘astonishing’ trans love story as spring 2025 lead title

Little Island Books has signed A Fix of Light by Kel Menton, a YA trans love story with a dark magical twist, as its spring 2025 lead title.

World rights in all languages were acquired by publisher Matthew Parkinson-Bennett from agent Laura Bennett of the Liverpool Literary Agency, with publication scheduled for February 2025.

Kel Menton is a non-binary, neurodivergent writer and youth theatre professional from Cork in Ireland. A Fix of Light is their first book. The publisher describes it as “a queer love story which emphasises hope and the possibility of surviving trauma to build a life worth living, with protagonists that destigmatise trans experience.”

The synopsis reads: “Eighteen year old Hanan’s life is already complicated enough when he develops a strange new power: his emotions begin to magically manifest in the world around him. Then he meets Pax, a witty 19-year-old trans boy with fox-like features, and an intense romance blossoms.

“What Pax doesn’t know is that when he touches Hanan, he mutes his new power. Is Hanan’s love real, or is he just using Pax? In their search for the source of Hanan’s power, the boys discover Aodhán, a mischievous fey who lives in a forest. Aodhán’s truth-telling reveals Pax’s own secret: he is a shapeshifter. The truth threatens to drive the boys apart, but with dangerous forces from his past pursuing him, Pax needs Hanan just as much as Hanan needs him.”

Parkinson-Bennett said: “Kel is an astonishing talent and we are so thrilled they’ll be joining our list of leading Irish YA voices next year. Despite being a debut, A Fix of Light will be one of our lead titles for 2025 and we are backing this gorgeously written book with a strong publicity campaign in Ireland and around the world.”

Menton said: “I am so honoured that A Fix of Light has found a home at Little Island. I started writing this book at sixteen, and can hardly believe it is finally going out into the world. This is a lifelong dream come true, and I could not have had a more ideal publishing experience thanks to my agent Laura Bennett and the stellar team at Little Island.”