Pan Fiction lands Barnaby Martin's 'beautifully imagined' debut novel

Pan Fiction, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has landed The Quiet, a "beautifully imagined" debut from Barnaby Martin. 

Publisher Francesca Pathak acquired world English language rights in a two-book deal from Jack Fogg at Dunn Fogg Literary. The novel will be published in spring 2025. 

The Quiet follows scientist Hannah and her gifted son Isaac who live surrounded by the "Soundfield", in a world where people are forced to live at night due to the heat of the day.

The publisher continued: "Hannah spent her early career working on the enigma of the Soundfield, looking for answers; now, resigned, she has focused all her energies on keeping Isaac living, not just alive. If she lets her guard down, lets him out of her sight, lets him show what he’s capable of, he will be taken from her." 

Martin is an award-winning and self-taught composer whose music has been performed by groups such as Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Westminster Cathedral Choir. His YouTube channel, "Listening In", explores the cross-section between pop culture and classical music.

Martin said: "The Quiet began with a question. What would happen to the world if we couldn’t ignore the thing that was destroying us? This is where the  Soundfield came from, but, it’s also the place from which the central relationship in the book – that between Hannah and her son – emerged… Hannah can’t escape her past any more than she can escape the noise from the Field. It’s always with her. I am so excited to have signed with Pan Macmillan –- it’s the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to work with Francesca and her colleagues. Thank you, also, to my tireless agent, Jack, for all his support and guidance over the past two years." 

Pathak added: "For anyone who has seen Barnaby’s YouTube videos, it’s clear that he knows how to engage an audience, and that is certainly the case with The Quiet. It explores a number of themes – the limitations of science, our relationship with our past selves, the joy and solace of community – but at its core, this is a novel about a parent’s love for their child and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love most."