Pan Macmillan swoons for Zen Cho's 'passionate romance' in two-book deal

Pan Macmillan has fallen for the first "wonderfully compulsive" romance novel from fantasy author Zen Cho. 

UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired by assistant editor Ellah Mwale in a two-book deal from Chris Scheina, director of subsidiary rights at St Martin’s Press. The Friend Zone Experiment, the first book in the deal, will be published in August 2024 simultaneously with the US.

Described by Pan MacMillan as "a Korean drama on the page", The Friend Zone Experiment is a second-chance romance following a fashion designer c.e.o who has been dumped by her famous boyfriend. When she is offered to become the heir to the family business in a battle against her brother, her first love returns and she must try and make the most of both opportunities. The book is said to be "full of rich Asian glamour, high-stake sibling rivalry and a passionate romance".

Mwale said: "Cho is able to bring the bold personalities and sweet sentiments of Korean dramas to the page. She can weave a love story ingrained with the realities that come with being a successful woman, a daughter and a younger sibling with the charming rediscovery of what it is to love. What I can only describe as if ’Succession’ was a romance, I’m excited for readers to escape into this elegant world Zen has created." 

Cho added: "Writing The Friend Zone Experiment was my escape from the anxiety and tedium of lockdown, into a world of grand romance, the glamour – and costs – of great wealth, and family drama writ large. Ellah totally gets this book and the Kdrama genre that inspired it. I’m delighted that she and Pan Macmillan are bringing this book of my heart home to the UK."