Sphere wins rights to debut novel by Rebecca Hannigan in 'heated' three-way auction

Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown, has won rights to the debut and a second novel by Rebecca Hannigan in a ’heated’ three-way auction. Senior commissioning editor Cal Kenny acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Darkrooms from Cathryn Summerhayes at Curtis Brown. US Rights were simultaneously acquired in a six-figure pre-empt by Danielle Dieterich at Morrow.

The book follows Caitlin, who left her small Irish hometown 20 years previously. The synopsis states: "She drifts from temporary jobs to temporary men, trying to escape memories of The Hanging Woods. Of What happened to Roisin there. But with news of her mother’s death, Caitlin is forced to return to the place she’d rather forget, where old resentments run deep and people know more about the lives of their neighbours than they would ever admit. Roisin’s sister Deedee, now a guard, has never given up on finding the truth of what happened that night. And Caitlin’s return makes old wound fresh, threatening to exhume secrets that have lain buried for two decades – while The Hanging Woods begin their siren call to Caitlin and Deedee once more."

The novel was in part inspired by the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork in 1996, and won the Little, Brown/UEA Crime Writing Award in 2023.

Kenny said: "Like The Hanging Woods themselves, this unsettling, evocative debut drew me into its shadowy depths. A brilliant mystery, Darkrooms also dexterously explores abuses of power and female agency within patriarchal structures. It centres two challenging but ultimately redeemable protagonists, Caitlin and Deedee, who are shaped by a shared traumatic past that has haunted them for 20 years. Rebecca is a staggering new talent.”

Hannigan said: “Working with Sphere has been such a joy. From the outset, Cal completely understood how Darkrooms was fuelled by my fury at news headlines excusing the powerful from their abuses and crimes, and my desire to move away from a more traditional genre focus on the perpetrator that often sidelines the victims. Frenetically paced and darkly funny, Darkrooms is a crime novel about living.”

Summerhayes said: “Rebecca is a talented author who I believe will become a huge name in the crime-writing community. No one is better placed to help her on her way than Cal and the team at Little Brown.”

Sphere will publish Darkrooms in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audiobook on 12th March 2026.