Scribner acquires debut from Dominic Amerena at auction

Scribner has acquired the debut from Dominic Amerena at auction. Editorial assistant Ella Fox-Martens and publishing director Sophie Missing acquired UK and Commonwealth and audio rights from John Ash at CAA, in Fox-Martens’ first acquisition for Scribner. Jane Palfreyman pre-empted ANZ rights from Grace Heifetz at Left Bank Literary, her first fiction acquisition as publishing director of Summit Books, Australia.

The synopsis of I Want Everything reads: “You all know this, of course, but years and years ago, acclaimed Australian novelist Brenda Shales went missing. After two explosive, controversial books that would shape the literary canon of the country for decades to come and that terrible legal scandal about plagiarism, she was simply gone.

“That is until a frustrated young writer sees an elderly woman swimming at his local pool in Melbourne. She looks familiar…very familiar in fact. No. It couldn’t be. Stunned, he returns home to confirm the impossible truth; it is Brenda Shales, now stranded in a retirement home. He is determined to pursue her, to discover what happened to her all those years ago, and to possibly fulfil his dreams of literary stardom through a tell-all biography. But when he finds her, a case of mistaken identity and Brenda’s own terrible secrets begin to derail his ambitions and ultimately, his entire life.”

Fox-Martens said: “I was so enraptured by Dominic’s debut that I stayed up all night to finish it, completely lost in the complex, thrilling puzzle of Brenda Shales. By turns thrilling, shocking and slyly funny,I Want Everything is an intricate, dazzlingly clever take on authorship and authenticity, and the costs of creative ambition. I can’t wait to publish it.”

Amerena said: “This news has made my week, month and year.It’s an incredible honour and privilege to publish I Want Everything with Scribner, whose work I’ve long admired. Ella, and the rest of the team are the best in the business; more than a house, Scribner feels like the perfect home for my novel and I can’t wait to share it with the world.”

I Want Everything will be published by Scribner UK in August 2025.