Scarrow strikes six-book deal

Headline has struck a new six-book deal with historical fiction author Simon Scarrow.

Scarrow has sold over 4 million copies of his books in the English language alone, according to Headline, as the author of 29 novels. Of these, 16 were written as part of his Eagles of the Empire series featuring Roman army heroes Cato and Macro, and his most recent novel is Day of the Caesars which published in November 2017.

The new deal, negotiated by agent Luigi Bonomi of LBA and Headline executive publisher Marion Donaldson, sees Headline acquire world rights in four new novels in the Eagles of the Empire series. Eagles of the Empire XVII will be published in November 2018, followed by two stand-alone thrillers set during World War II, the first of which is scheduled for 2020.

Scarrow said he couldn't wait to get stuck in.  "I'm delighted that I will be working with Marion and the Headline team on six new books. History is our shared passion and I can't wait to get stuck into the research and writing over the next few years," he said.

"I feel that the best is yet to come for Macro and Cato, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to write about more recent history with the two stand-alone novels. It's an exciting time for me, and I'm hugely looking forward to sharing that excitement with my readers."

Donaldson has worked with Scarrow since he came to Headline with his first novel, Under the Eagle, in 1999. She commented: "Simon Scarrow is an author at the top of his game, renowned for his powerful historical fiction both in the Roman era and also across many other periods of history, which he brings vividly to life in captivating, pacy and vastly entertaining novels ... I couldn’t be more excited to be looking forward to working with Simon on six fabulous new books."

The deal follows a change in direction for Scarrow last year when he published a cyber thriller, Playing with Death, with Headline in July 2017. He also is the author of a series of young adult novels called The Gladiator Series, published by Puffin.