PRH Children's triumphs in 15-way auction for Fadugba debut

Penguin Random House Children’s has won a 15-way auction to publish a "genre-defying, time-travelling" YA thriller, The Upper World by Femi Fadugba.

At its heart, the book–the first in a two-book series of the same name–is "a breathtakingly ambitious exploration of free will and the capacity of two young teenagers to see a future worth fighting for", according to the publisher.

UK and Commonwealth rights, plus translation rights, in two books were acquired by editor Emma Jones at Penguin Random House Children’s from Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White. Translation rights have also been snapped up in Germany and Italy.

The debut is set to publish in August 2021, accompanied by a high-profile PR and marketing campaign, positioning The Upper World as the start of a "ground-breaking" and "contemporary" sci-fi series for YA readers. A sequel will follow in 2022.

The PRH Children's synopsis reads: "2020: Close to getting expelled and caught up in a deadly feud, the tensions surrounding Esso seem to be leading to a single moment that could shatter his future. 2035: Stripped of everything, football prodigy Rhia has just one thing left on her mind – figuring out how to avert a bullet that was fired 15 years in the past. Everything changes when Esso gains access to a mysterious world where he can see glimpses of the past and future, and when Rhia starts understanding the physics of it. The two must work together to master the secrets of the Upper World and seize control of their own destinies before it's too late."

Jones, the book's acquiring editor, called it "YA fiction at its absolute best", describing it "smart, bold, funny and addictive". "From the very first page, the whole team felt completely invested in Esso’s voice and Femi’s remarkable writing," she said. "He has skilfully woven together the story of two young teenagers separated by time and fate with his expert knowledge of the physics of literal time-travel. Its ambition and scope is unlike anything else out there: simply put, it’s a triumph."

Fadugba, based between Peckham and Baltimore, has a Master’s degree from Oxford University, where he published in quantum physics, and has worked in solar energy and in consulting. He said: "With The Upper World, I wanted to combine ideas that aren't meant to go together. Like time-travel physics and life on an estate. Like the philosophical question of whether man has free will, and the everyday question of whether man should wear trainers or polished shoes to that first date. And as someone who avoided fiction as a kid, more than anything, I wanted to write the kind of book that younger me wouldn't have been able to put down. To now have Penguin behind the project, and to have seen all the interest it generated during auction – it's taken the dream to a new level."