Pushkin Vertigo to publish debut novel by masked Japanese YouTuber Uketsu

Pushkin Vertigo, an imprint of Pushkin Press, is to publish Strange Pictures, the first novel by Uketsu, a masked Japanese YouTuber turned bestselling novelist. Pushkin senior commissioning editor Daniel Seton bought world English rights to this and a second title from Kenny Okuyama at Japan Uni Agency. Strange Pictures will be published, in a translation by Jim Rion, in trade paperback and e-book on 16th January 2025.

Published in Japan by Futabasha in autumn 2022, Strange Pictures has already sold 800,000 copies, making Uketsu one of the most talked-about young crime writers in the country. Two further novels by the author have been published by Asukashinsha, with total sales for the books now approaching 3m copies. 

Emily Books Agency and Casanovas & Lynch co-ordinated the sale in Europe during and after the London Book Fair and received more than 50 offers from 20 different countries, a record for Futabasha’s 76 years of history. Foreign rights have now been sold in 29 territories and film/TV requests have followed. In the United States, Ruth Logan sold rights on behalf of Pushkin Press to HarperVia in a highly competitive auction. It will also publish Strange Pictures in January 2025.

Strange Pictures is an intriguing new style of crime novel, in which the reader is encouraged to play detective and solve the mystery behind a series of unsettling drawings. On a seemingly innocuous blog, a pregnant woman’s sketches conceal a chilling warning; a child’s picture of his home contains within it a dark secret message; a sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth into an investigation that will reveal a terrifying reality.

The book will be launched with an innovative marketing and publicity campaign. An exclusive run of early proofs are currently landing with select readers, with a wider proof run planned for the autumn. Further activity will be largely video-based, to align closely with Uketsu’s unique content. 

Seton said: "I’m delighted to have acquired this highly innovative and brilliantly creepy mystery. It feels like an exciting new kind of crime writing, involving the reader in solving the puzzle in a way few authors have done before. It has already been a sensation in Japan and I think it will soon be one all over the world."

Translator Rion said: "As a genuine fan, I can’t wait to share Uketsu’s crafty tales of the macabre with readers around the world."

Uketsu is an enigmatic YouTuber and author, specialising in horror and mystery. He always appears in videos wearing a white mask and black body-stocking, with his voice digitally distorted. His true identity is unknown. Strange Pictures was Uketsu’s debut novel.