Two six-figure international deals for Cousens as Arrow snaps up 'high-concept' love story

Arrow has snapped up a high-concept love story from former TV producer Sophie Cousens and sold the rights internationally in two six-figure deals. 

Editor Sonny Marr acquired world rights to This Time Next Year from Clare Wallace at Darley Anderson Literary, TV & Film Agency. Arrow will publish in e-book first in August 2020 with a paperback original following in October.

The PRH rights team has also secured two six-figure deals, with German rights pre-empted by Penguin Verlag, and US rights sold to Putnam at auction.

Rights director Amelia Evans said: "We’ve been blown away by the international response to This Time Next Year so far–German rights were pre-empted over the space of a weekend and there was fierce competition in the US–we’re certain that these are the first of many more deals to come."

This Time Next Year tells the story of Quinn and Minnie, who are born on the same night, at the same hospital, at the same time. The synopsis reads: "Quinn and Minnie may be from different worlds but their fates are entwined from that first moment. So starts a story of two unlikely lovers who fate takes thirty years to find one another."

Cousens, who worked in TV in London for over twelve years, producing "The Graham Norton Show", "Big Brother" and "Ant and Dec", said: "I can't wait to introduce Minnie and Quinn to readers and I'm thrilled to be joining the Arrow list. This has been a joyful novel to write, full of humour, heartache and New Year's Eve expectation. If you ever suspected fate might have a sense of humour, then this book is for you."

Marr added: "Fans of One Day in December are going to totally fall for Quinn and Minnie. This is a wonderful novel about near misses and second chances. It’s about arriving in your thirties to realise that you haven’t got it all figured out, breaking the curse of the terrible New Year’s Eve, and feeling fireworks when you least expect to. We are thrilled to be launching Sophie on the Arrow list and can’t wait to put our exciting publishing plans into place."