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Manilla Press pre-empts 'feminist vampire novel' by Dunn
Manilla Press has pre-empted a "compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla" by Kat Dunn. Set against the "violent wilderness of the Peaks", Hungerstone is a retelling of the book that inspired the story of Dracula.
Sophie Orme, Manilla Press publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Hellie Ogden at WME. The book will be published in 2025 in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audiobook, as a lead publication for Manilla Press.
The synopsis says: "Lenore is the wife of steel magnate Henry, but 10 years into their marriage the relationship has soured, and no child has arrived to fill the distance growing between them. Henry’s ambitions take them from London to Sheffield, and with his success hinged on a hunt, an old tradition looms over the home; the hunt is a time to settle old scores.
"If a bullet finds a human home, then it is only that they were foolish to become prey. In the weeks leading up to the hunt, a carriage accident near their remote home brings the mysterious Carmilla into Lenore’s life. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night, Carmilla who will not eat meals with the family, Carmilla who stirs up a hunger deep within Lenore. Soon girls from local villages begin to fall sick before being consumed by a terrible hunger."
Orne said: “I’ve been looking to publish a brilliant feminist vampire novel for some time, so when Hungerstone arrived in my inbox I couldn’t have been more excited. Kat’s luminous writing and dark, captivating voice held me absolutely spellbound from the very first page. I cannot wait for readers to discover this ferocious, atmospheric and utterly unputdownable story of ambition, female oppression and unstoppable hunger.”
Dunn added: "Hungerstone is a story that poured out of me with raw anger, urgency and revelation. It is about appetite and agency, desire and despair… To have found a home with a team who understand the book on every level is far more than I ever expected."
