Picador's Hutchinson signs deal with Corsair for his 'rollercoaster' debut novel

Picador publicity staffer Connor Hutchinson has sold his debut novel, Dead Lucky, to Corsair.

Olivia Hutchings, editorial director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Philippa Sitters at David Godwin Associates. Dead Lucky will be published in hardback in spring 2025.

Hutchinson works as a senior communications executive for Picador and has previously worked at Faber and at Waterstones as a bookseller. He is also a portrait painter and is originally from Manchester. Corsair said that “through the use of dark humour, his work often centres around the themes of masculinity and the working-class areas he was raised”.

Dead Lucky is dubbed by Corsair “a dark comedy about the secrets of addiction alongside the eccentric realities of the funeral industry”. It is set in Openshaw, Manchester, and follows Jamie Fletcher, an embalmer at a busy local funeral home.

Corsair said: “His adoring girlfriend, Rebecca, is pushing to save up for a house, but she hasn’t a clue that Jamie has been living with a gambling addiction since his early teens. Wrestling with debts and dishonesty, Jamie journeys through the pubs, bookmakers, casinos and racetracks of Manchester, scrambling to erase his debts before the truth is laid bare. How far will he go to get his life back on track, and what can he take from the dead to help him get there?”

Hutchinson said: “This is a book that was influenced by the stories and characters I’ve grown up with in Manchester, so I hope it sheds light on their humour and daily struggles.”

Hutchings said: “Connor’s debut is a beautifully written, incredibly funny, anxiety-inducing rollercoaster of a story, that shows the devastating reality of addiction. For fans of Michael McGee’s Close to Home, Dead Lucky is a darkly funny portrait of a way of life we don’t see enough of in books, cut through with the edgy tension of Uncut Gems.”