Penguin Michael Joseph bags Castillo’s Spanish bestseller The Snow Girl

Penguin Michael Joseph has acquired The Snow Girl by Javier Castillo, which has sold more than two million copies in Spain since first publishing in 2020, according to the publisher. Earlier this year it was adapted by Netflix.

Commissioning editor Grace Long secured UK and Commonwealth rights to The Snow Girl and a second book, The Soul Game, from María Reina de la Puebla at Penguin Random House Spain. Netflix will also adapt The Soul Game, which is set for release in Autumn 2024. Penguin Michael Joseph will publish The Snow Girl in paperback original and e-book in November 2023.

The Snow Girl is described as a “page-turning, pulse-pounding thriller” which follows investigative journalist Miren Triggs as she desperately hunts down leads that will help return missing girl Kiera Templeton to her parents. The synopsis goes on: “Kiera went missing amongst the crowds of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1998 and hasn’t been seen since – until a video arrives with her parents, on her eighth birthday.

“It shows Kiera, alive and well, playing in a bedroom. Several more videos arrive, always showing Kiera in that same room. Until a final video arrives. It’s the same bedroom – but Kiera is gone. Miren is determined not to let Kiera disappear again. But someone doesn’t want Kiera to be found – and will do whatever it takes to stop Miren in her pursuit.”

Castillo commented: “I’m incredibly grateful for the overwhelming global success of The Snow Girl and the amazing support it has received from readers all over the world. The opportunity to collaborate and publish with Penguin Michael Joseph on this journey is an absolute blessing, and I am filled with enthusiasm to bring my beloved character, Miren Triggs, to readers in the UK and Commonwealth.”

Long added: “I’m delighted to be publishing Javier in the UK for the first time. The Snow Girl has become a global phenomenon both in print and on screen, and it’s not hard to see why. Javier’s storytelling is gripping, pacy and emotionally complex, and I couldn’t put this book down. I’m looking forward to launching Javier to a new audience of readers, and to further growing his impressive international platform and success.”