Scholastic swoops for Joe Heap's 'winning' dark academia novel

Scholastic has scooped A Murder of Rogues, a story of blackmail, murder, queer romance and identity, from Joe Heap. 

World rights were acquired by senior commissioning editor Julia Sanderson from Molly Jamieson at United Agents for publication in August 2025. 

Set in Regency England, the novel follows Cascabel Grey who disguises herself as a man to get into Oxford University. Her plans are upended when Charles Lafleur, a member of the Rogues Club, discovers her secret and begins to blackmail Cascabel. However, when Charles is murdered and Cascabel is the prime suspect she joins the Rogues Club, alternating between her male and female personas, to clear her name.

Heap commented: "When I started writing Cascabel’s story, I got up early each morning to write more pages. I never—and this cannot be stressed enough—get up early. So I’m excited to share this book and cause other people to lose sleep. Scholastic has an amazing track record launching UKYA authors, and I’m thrilled to be working with Julia and the team."

Sanderson added: "A Murder of Rogues is the perfect book to shake you out of a reading slump. Cascabel Gray’s fierce, vibrant and irresistible voice commanded my attention from the start, and Joe blends the winning ingredients of dark academia, queer romance and Regency murder mystery into a completely cohesive, addictive story that I devoured. I’m thrilled to bring it to Scholastic’s YA list."