Orbit triumphs in three-publisher auction for Brooks fantasy series

Little, Brown imprint Orbit has won a three-publisher auction for a new epic fantasy series from author Mike Brooks.

UK and Commonwealth rights for three books were bought at auction by senior commissioning editor Jenni Hill in a deal with agent Rob Dinsdale's Independent Literary. Book one in the series, The Black Coast, is planned for publication next June. US rights have been acquired by Solaris Books and translation rights are being handled by Alexander Cochran at CW Agency.

Its synopsis explains: “The Black Coast begins as the citizens of Black Keep spot raiding ships on the horizon. Saddling their war dragons, they rush to defend their home, only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by the rise of a daemonic despot who prophesies the end of the world, the raiders have come in search of a new home. Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the cross-fire of the coming conflict – if only its new mismatched society can survive.”

Hill said: “At almost 170,000 words of pure awesome, The Black Coast is one of those titles that puts the epic in epic fantasy – Mike has crafted a beautifully detailed world and story in which readers can truly lose themselves, with dragon riders, seafaring raiders and truly crowd-pleasing battle scenes this is a fantasy to delight all fans of the genre.”

Brooks, based in Nottingham, currently works for a homelessness charity and plays guitar in a punk band. He is the author of the Keiko trilogy (Saga Press).

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Orbit, which has put out so many books I’ve loved over the years, and I’m really excited to be working with them on this new project.”

Dinsdale added: “From the very first pages, you just know that The Black Coast is something very special in fantasy – a novel that celebrates goodness in dark times, but that nevertheless never forgets the joy of a good brawl. Mike’s ambition and imagination in these novels is as epic as the world he creates. Readers are going to love this.”