PMJ signs three-book deal with Fallon

Penguin Michael Joseph has signed a three-book deal with “superstar of women’s fiction” Jane Fallon.

Maxine Hitchcock, publishing director for fiction, bought UK and Commonwealth rights, including audio, from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown.

Fallon has sold more than one million books in the UK alone, according to the publisher, with her most recent, Queen Bee, racking up 100,000 sales in all formats since July 2020. She is on 1.09 million print books sold for £5.2m through Nielsen BookScan's UK Total Consumer Market.

Her 11th novel, Worst. Idea. Ever, is published today (29th April). It is her first hardback outing and backed by a major publicity and marketing campaign.

Fallon said: “I’ve been with Penguin Michael Joseph since my first book and I couldn’t be more delighted to have signed up for three more with them. I have the best team, they’re a dream to work with.”

Key publicity for the book includes appearances on ITV's “Lorraine”, BBC Radio 2 with Steve Wright, BBC 5 Live with Nihal Arthanayake and Virgin Radio with Graham Norton, plus the Scala Radio Book Club and print coverage including interviews in the Daily Mail Weekend and Hello magazine plus features in Woman & Home and High Life.

The marketing campaign includes launching a new, quarterly Jane Fallon newsletter with the first sent in early July ahead of paperback release. Regular content will include an introduction from the author, plus her recommendations from summer reads to must-watch Netflix shows. Podcast sponsorship from late May will bridge the gap between hardback and paperback publication.