Long Bright is right for Hutchinson

Hutchinson has splashed out a six-figure sum for UK and Commonwealth rights to 2014 Rome Prize in Literature recipient Liz Moore’s "gritty, compelling, cleverly constructed novel" Long Bright River.

Publishing director Jocasta Hamilton struck the deal through Abner Stein agent Caspian Dennis, acting on behalf of Seth Fishman at The Gernert Company. Riverhead won US rights after a 10-way auction.

Set in Philadelphia, the novel follows two women: one is a police officer who patrols a high-crime district populated by drug-dealers and sex workers; the other, her sister, is suffering from addiction.

Hamilton said: "Long Bright River combines police procedural with a riveting portrait of tough yet vulnerable people and a beleaguered neighbourhood. Even when [Moore’s] characters are incapable of caring for themselves, we are rooting for them absolutely. She captures what it is to suffer from addiction, and the impact that has on friends and family, with truth and empathy."