Scholastic signs three-book deal with ‘major new YA star’ Campbell

Scholastic has snapped up a three-book YA series by Triona Campbell, a three-time Emmy-nominated producer, with the first, a novel entitled A Game of Life or Death, described as “a contemporary thriller with a high stakes speculative twist”.

Lauren Fortune, fiction publisher, bought world rights to the books from Marianne Gunn O’Connor at Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary, Film & TV Agency. 

Scheduled for publication in February 2023, A Game of Life or Death begins when 16-year-old Asha Kennedy discovers her older sister Maya’s dead body in their home. Desperate for answers and to stay out of the hands of the social services she grew up in, Asha turns to her hacker friends for help. Her search leads her to Zu Tech, the hit games studio where Maya was a lead coder. 

As Asha unravels the riddle of her death, she realises that the only way to uncover the truth is from the inside. Asha ghosts her old life and infiltrates a Zu Tech e-sport tournament as they launch Shackle, the revolutionary virtual reality video game Maya was working on – and which hides a monstrous secret.

Campbell is the creator of Ireland’s first TV series on videogames “Gamer Mode” and also a producer on the UK teen drama “Sofia’s Diary”.

She said: “I’m ridiculously excited to be working with Lauren and the team at Scholastic. I couldn’t ask for a better home for my books. A Game of Life or Death is a story that has real relevance for the world we live in. Readers can expect a thriller about power, survival, love and also hope. I can’t wait till February 2023 when we get to share this with them.” 

Fortune described the book as part murder mystery, part pulse-pounding thriller, with breathtaking scenes set in a virtual reality world. “This is a truly sensational read,” she said. “Asha is Lisbeth Salander for a new generation: an expert hacker who is brave, resilient and super smart – and her story is exhilarating and moving in equal measure. Triona is a major new YA star and we couldn’t be more excited to be publishing her.” 

O’Connor added: “Triona Campbell is a brilliant talent. As an award-winning TV producer of young-adult programmes, she intrinsically knows how to navigate the world of young people with insight and skill. 

“A Game of Life or Death plays into our concerns about the breathtaking pace of the development of AI. There was such love in the publishing world for A Game of Life or Death, but ultimately Lauren Fortune and Scholastic took that to a whole other level. They blew us away with their vision and passion for the series and for Triona as a writer. I look forward to seeing them shepherd this exceptional, visionary series into the world.”