YA 'rape culture' novel bought by PRH Children's

Penguin Random House Children’s will publish a book about rape culture and toxic masculinity in the UK this May.

Tradition by Brendan Kiely is set at an elite prep school and told from the perspectives of students Jules and Jamie. Jules is in her final year, determined to get out and start life at college, and Jamie is a sports star on a scholarship. After a school party ends in disaster, they both discover a terrible truth and that ‘tradition’ can be ugly and even violent.

Editorial director Holly Harris bought the UK and Commonwealth rights from Charlotte Seymour of Andrew Nurnberg Associates on behalf of Rob Weisbach Creative Management.

Harris said: "We’re thrilled to be publishing Tradition this May. It’s a compulsive read with a complex issue at its heart that is engaging to the last page. We can’t wait to publish this compelling and insightful novel."

Kiely added: “In the midst of our cultural reckoning with abuse of power, sexual harassment, and the meaning of consent, I wanted to write about the strength of women who stand up and speak out about misogyny and, especially as a man writing this novel, I wanted to ask, ‘How can men be better feminists?’”

 Publication is slated for 3rd May in paperback and e-book.