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Oneworld’s Magpie imprint has signed The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by South African author Shubnum Khan.
Publisher Juliet Mabey and senior editor Polly Hatfield acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada and South Africa from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein, on behalf of Julia Kardon at HG Literary. Viking and Pan Macmillan will publish in North America and South Africa respectively.
Khan’s first novel, Onion Tears (2011), was shortlisted for the Penguin Prize for African Writing and the University of Johannesburg Debut Fiction Prize. The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is her debut novel in the UK. It will be a lead title for Magpie, who will publish in hardback and trade paperback in February 2024.
The novel’s synopsis reads: “By the time 15-year-old Sana moves to the once-grand estate of Akbar Manzil on South Africa’s eastern coast, the house is a place where people come to forget, or to be forgotten. Full of questions about her new home, Sana is drawn to the deserted east wing, sealed off behind a door that has been locked for 82 years. Soon, she begins to uncover the tangled, troubling history of Akbar Manzil, unearthing secrets that will bring together the lives of the building’s inhabitants, past and present.”
Mabey and Hatfield said: “Part love story, part coming-of-age tale, part gothic mystery, Shubnum’s novel is utterly distinctive and beautifully written.”
Khan added: “It’s very exciting to have my debut novel in the UK brought to life with a publisher like Oneworld that is known to champion diverse voices from around the globe and I cannot wait to put this book out in the world with them. I am grateful that this haunting story set in South Africa has found a home among so many authors I deeply admire.”