Orion Fiction pre-empts Hassan’s ‘heartbreaking’ debut in six-figure two-book deal

Orion Fiction has acquired Aisha Hassan’s début novel The Boy Who Built Lahore and one other title in a six-figure deal.

Charlotte Mursell, publishing director, pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Hellie Ogden at Janklow & Nesbit UK in under 24 hours. US rights have been sold at auction to Alison Callahan at Simon & Schuster and translation rights have sold at auction in Spain (Almuzara) and the Netherlands (Mosaiek). Orion will publish in May 2025.

The publisher said that the book, which tells the story of 20-year-old Lalloo and his fight for survival "in the cruellest of worlds and circumstances", will appeal to fans of Khaled Hosseini, Delia Owens and Christy Lefteri. The title was hailed by a string of unpublished novel awards, including being longlisted for the Bridport Novel (Peggy Chapman-Andrews) and Hachette’s Mo Siewcharran Prize and shortlisted for the London Writers Award. It was also featured on the Penguin Random House WriteNow scheme and shortlisted for the London Writers Award. 

The book opens when Lalloo’s brother is murdered in front of his family’s small hut on the outskirts of Lahore. Unable to escape the memory of that night, Lalloo’s parents remain trapped at the brickyards as they slave to pay off their debts. To save them, Lalloo will need to free himself from his past and face unimaginable sacrifice to carve out his own destiny.

The title was inspired by a true story. "[It will] shine a light on the brickyards of Pakistan, where millions of people spend their lives in bonded work struggling to repay crippling loans that they have little chance of ever escaping," said the publisher.

Hassan, a published poet, has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford and is a Curtis Brown Creative alumni. Her play "Pickled Mangoes" was performed at the Tamasha comedy scratch night performance at Soho Theatre.

She said: “Lalloo’s story is such an important story that needed telling." 

Mursell called the book "one of those rare and special stories that stays with you forever. I felt as if my heart was broken into a million pieces then painstakingly pieced back together by the final pages.”

Ogden added: “This is one of those rare beasts of a novel that doesn’t come along very often—a big, sweeping story I’ve been itching to send out since my return from parental leave.”