Oneworld scoops Bieker’s 'electrifying' novel on violence and recovery in three-way auction

Oneworld has scooped Chelsea Bieker’s "electrifying" new novel Madwoman in a three-way auction.

Juliet Mabey, publisher for fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Rachel Clements at Abner Stein, on behalf of Samantha Shea at George Borchardt Inc. Scheduled for September 2024, it will publish simultaneously in North America where the rights were pre-empted by Jean Garnett at Little, Brown US.

Designated Oneworld’s "superlead" fiction title for the autumn, the publication of Madwoman will be underpinned by an "extensive" publicity and marketing campaign and the author will be touring the UK on publication.

Bieker’s novel is a story about violence and recovery, and the synopsis adds: "It centres on Clove, who has gone to extremes to keep her traumatic past a secret, spending years meticulously crafting a family that looks nothing like the one she grew up in. As secrets begin to leak out she becomes entangled in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the very people she thought she’d outrun. For readers of Lisa Taddeo and Nightbitch [Rachel Yoder, Harvill Secker], Madwoman is a novel about cycle-breaking and addiction, and an exploration of the long tendrils of violence, and the ways in which that violence can be linked, inextricably, with love."

Mabey commented: “This is the kind of novel that doesn’t come along very often. Chelsea’s author note absolutely blew us away, and her story will change the way we think about motherhood and motherloss, about inheritance and repentance, and about the very nature of trauma and justice.

"More than this, the quality of her writing, her humour, and the way she handles these difficult themes with immense compassion fired our determination to secure the rights. It is a absolute privilege to be allowed to bring her work to a British audience for the first time. She is a writer to watch."

Bieker is the author of the debut novel Godshot (Catapult), which was longlisted for The Center For Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and named a Barnes & Noble Pick of the Month. Her story collection Heartbroke (Catapult) won the California Book Award, while the author is also the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award, as well as residencies from MacDowell and Tin House.