PMJ takes first place in race for McCulloch’s new running thriller 

Penguin Michael Joseph has acquired two new thrillers by Amy McCulloch, the first of which, Runner 13, will be published in spring 2025.

PMJ publisher Joel Richardson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment. US rights were bought by Edward Kastenmeier for Doubleday Books, with Canadian rights scooped by Lara Hinchberger for Viking via Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency on behalf of Mushens.

McCulloch’s previous work includes Breathless, Waterstones Thriller of the Month in November 2023, and Midnight, a Times Thriller of the Month, both of which are inspired by her own adventures across the world and published by PMJ. She has climbed two of the world’s tallest mountains and taken part in the notorious six-day long Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, which served as the inspiration for Runner 13. The novel tells the story of a long-distance runner whose ultramarathon in the Saharan sand may turn out to be more deadly than she could have imagined.

McCulloch said: “Penguin Michael Joseph took Breathless to incredible heights I never expected, like the top of The Bookseller heatseekers chart, and I can’t wait to continue this journey with them. They say a writing career is a marathon, not a sprint – I really put that to the test by running 250km through the Sahara and turning that extreme adventure into my most powerful – and personal – thriller yet.”

Richardson said: “Amy McCulloch is inspirational in every sense of the word. Her incredible adventures provide the most extraordinary settings for her novels but most of all she’s an incredibly gifted thriller writer, with a particular gift for brilliant relatable protagonists, and for populating her terrifying wildernesses with even more frightening villains. Ever since we won Breathless at auction it’s been a joy to see her go from strength to strength, and Runner 13 promises to be her biggest thriller yet.”