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Lucie McKnight Hardy moves to John Murray with new folk horror novel
Welsh author Lucie McKnight Hardy is moving to John Murray with a new folk horror novel. Yassine Belkacemi, editorial director at John Murray, an imprint of John Murray Press, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights including e-book and audio to Night Babies from Donald Winchester at Watson, Little. John Murray will publish Night Babies in hardback, trade paperback, e-book, and audio in Spring 2026.
The novel follows Astrid Aspden, a young and talented artist who secures her first solo exhibition, but disaster strikes when her house is flooded and her paintings are damaged. The synopsis continues: "Astrid is thrown a lifeline by her best friend Flora who invites her to stay at a chapel she and her partner are converting in the Brecon Beacons. While staying there Astrid learns about the unsettling history of the chapel and the valley it looks over. Gradually, Astrid notices strange goings-on in the chapel, and all the while things become tense between Astrid and Flora. Whether it is the past, the otherworldly, or the truth – they all haunt this menacing and claustrophobic novel."
McNight Hardy was previously published by Dead Ink Books, and her previous books, Water Shall Refuse Them and Dead Relatives, were both Waterstones Welsh book of the month. Her debut Water Shall Refuse Them was shortlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2017 and longlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award 2018.
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McKnight Hardy said: "I’m very excited to be embarking on the next stage in my publishing career with John Murray, who have been on my radar for quite some time as a publisher of quality fiction. I’m thrilled that Night Babies will be joining these ranks and am really looking forward to working with the team at John Murray to bring this to fruition."
Belkacemi said: "I’m delighted to welcome Lucie to John Murray. I’ve had the pleasure of being a reader of Lucie’s work and now can’t wait to be her publisher. Night Babies is a dark, moving and beautifully written novel. It deals with the human psyche, how our pasts haunt us, as well as being wonderfully evocative of the Welsh landscape. Lucie is a rare talent and the team here can’t wait to publish Night Babies next year."
