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Patel’s New Writers’ Prize-winning debut The Things That We Lost signed by #Merky
#Merky Books has signed Jyoti Patel’s debut novel The Things That We Lost, which was selected as the winning entry out of more than 2,000 submissions to the #Merky Books New Writers Prize.
Assistant editor Tallulah Lyons acquired world rights to the “beautifully tender exploration of family, loss, and the lengths to which we go to protect the ones we love” from Holly Faulks at Greene & Heaton, for publication on 26th January 2023.
The panel of judges who chose Jyoti’s novel as the winner of the 2022 prize included #Merky Books founder Stormzy, author and founder of Make Motherhood Diverse Candice Brathwaite, author Emma Dabiri, comedian Guz Khan and British Olympic heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Lyons said: “Jyoti writes with such precision and care, each word landing with such an impact. It’s impossible to stop thinking about the story and her characters long after reading. Jyoti has been amazing to work with and I am so thrilled to be welcoming such an exciting new author to the #Merky Books list."
The synopsis of The Things That We Lost reads: “Nik has lots of questions about his late father but knows better than to ask his mother, Avani. It’s their unspoken rule. When his grandfather dies, Nik has the opportunity to learn about the man he never met.
“Armed with a key and new knowledge about his parents’ past, Nik sets out to unlock the secrets that his mother has been holding onto his whole life. As the carefully crafted portrait Avani has painted for her son begins to crack, and painful truths emerge, can the two of them find their way back to each other?”
Patel said: “It’s been a dream come true winning the New Writers’ Prize and I’m delighted that my debut has found a home with #Merky Books. It means a great deal to be publishing a novel that centres around a British Gujarati family and I can’t wait to share Nik and Avani’s story with the world.”
Previous winners of the prize include Hafsa Zayyan, author of We Are All Birds of Uganda, and poet Monika Radojevic’s Teeth in the Back of the Neck. We Are All Birds of Uganda was one of #Merky Books’ lead fiction debut launches of 2021 and was described by Malorie Blackman as “a remarkably accomplished, polished debut”.
