Piatkus signs Forsythe's 'astonishingly relevant' rom-com debut

Piatkus has signed The Fixer Upper, a romantic comedy debut from Lauren Forsythe, billed as "the perfect blend of funny and emotional".

Sarah Murphy, assistant editor, made the deal for UK and Commonwealth rights with Hayley Steed at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency and the book will be published in summer 2022. US rights were sold to Kate Dresser at Putnam.

The synopsis reads: "Aly Aresti has always fixed things: her parents’ marriage, her colleagues’ work problems, her friends’ love lives…She thinks she’s getting a break from that when she takes herself to a restaurant alone for a rare night of self-care. But when she bumps into an ex who has gone from living in his parents’ basement to a married project manager since they dated, Aly realises she’s been fixing her boyfriends, too… Helped by her two best friends, Aly uses her talents to set up The Fixer Upper: an exclusive service for women who are tired of mothering their hapless boyfriends through life – with unbelievable results..."

Murphy said: "I am thrilled to be publishing The Fixer Upper. It has that rare thing: a heroine so real that I found myself falling in love with her from the very first page and cheering her along, my heart in my mouth, until the last. As well as being the perfect blend of funny and emotional, Forsythe’s book is also astonishingly relevant, exploring the theme of emotional labour in a way I have never seen done before in a romantic comedy. This is a novel about friendship, womanhood and the power of a good lipstick, which asks the important question: What if women stopped looking after everyone around us for a change, and dared to focus on ourselves?"

Forsythe commented: "I'm so excited that The Fixer Upper has found a home at Piatkus. The enthusiasm the team has for the concept and the characters has been amazing to see. Aly's story is one I think a lot of women can relate to, and I can't wait to hear what people think of the book. I hope it starts conversations about emotional labour in relationships, but also, I hope it makes a lot of readers laugh!"