Simon & Schuster acquires horror debut from Yah Yah Scholfield in three-way auction

Simon & Schuster has acquired the horror debut from Yah Yah Scholfield in a three-way auction, along with one other untitled novel. Charlotte Trumble, commissioning editor, adult fiction, bought UK and Commonwealth rights in two books from Stevie Finegan at Zeno Agency, on behalf of Valentina Sainato at JABberwocky Literary Agency. North American rights were pre-empted by Nivia Evans at Saga Press / Simon & Schuster US.

On Sundays She Picked Flowers will be published in hardback in the UK in early 2026, simultaneously with the US publication.

The synopsis reads: “When Judith Rice killed her mother and ran away from the home she grew up in, she thought she’d put an end to the woman’s abusive hold on her. For years, she lives a quiet life deep in the forest, kept company only by the mysterious beast that drops meat on her doorstep in exchange for flowers. In her isolated home, ghosts rattle the furniture, possess her to sleepwalk into the woods, and, inexplicably, the kitchen is an exact duplicate of the one she murdered her mother in. But here Jude finally feels free. When an enigmatic stranger shows up at the cabin, the peace Jude has built for herself is threatened. Caught between her desire for this woman and the violence that broils just beneath her skin, Jude’s past and present clash with teeth and nails as she reckons with the anniversary of her mother’s murder.”

Scholfield said: “On Sundays She Picked Flowers is my baby and my passion. I’m humbled to have the chance to show it to the world, to have others see the impact Black women authors like Toni Morrison and Tananarive Due have had on me and my craft. This book is dedicated to all the off-putting, unsettling Black girls out there – stay strange, stay gothic, and let’s keep haunting these narratives!”

Trumble said: “I genuinely devoured On Sundays She Picked Flowers. It has everything a horror fan could want: a killer opening (literally), a haunted cabin and sinister southern gothic atmosphere, complex family dynamics and a toxic lesbian romance. It’s both lyrical and beautifully written, yet terrifying and unputdownable. Yah Yah is so ridiculously talented and I cannot wait for readers in the UK to discover their work.”

Finegan said: “Yah Yah is such a stunning new talent in horror. On Sundays She Picked Flowers burrows into you in creepy ways you just can’t shake. I can’t wait to see what Yah Yah writes next. Many thanks to head agent, Valentina Sainato, for finding such a gem and then giving me the opportunity to find it the perfect home in the UK.”