Severn House nabs Lasky's Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series

Severn House has nabbed the Georgia O’Keeffe mystery series by Kathryn Lasky, the author of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series (HarperCollins Children’s Books).

Acting editorial director Rachel Slatter acquired world English rights to two new books from Paul Bresnick at Bresnick Weil Literary Agency, starting with Mortal Radiance: A Georgia O’Keeffe Mystery. The book follows Light on Bone (Woodhall Press), the first title in the series, and is scheduled for publication in July 2024.

“Mortal Radiance is set in 1935 in Taos, New Mexico, where a beautiful young woman is murdered and renowned painter Georgia O’Keeffe becomes enmeshed in a complex tangle of international espionage, murder, Nazis and thugs like Bugsy Siegel that will require Georgia’s artistic sensibility and amateur sleuthing skills to unravel,” the synopsis says. 

Slatter commented: “Mortal Radiance is a jewel of a book, which brings real-life artist Georgia O’Keeffe to vivid life, along with her friends and contemporaries. It’s not only a page-turner of a mystery, with layer upon layer of intrigue, but it’s also beautifully written from an artist’s perspective, full of light and colour. I can’t wait to share it with readers.”

Lasky added: “I am so happy to join the Severn House family and continue writing about this fascinating woman, Georgia O’Keeffe. She was daring, stubborn and revolutionary. It’s so much fun to try and see the world through the eyes of a painter like O’Keeffe, a ground-breaking figure in the 20th-century world of art.”

Bresnick commented: “Severn House feels like the perfect fit for this series, and I’m delighted that they have committed to two books.”