S&S and Sphere Hoover up Colleen’s novels in double deal for TikTok star

Simon & Schuster UK has acquired two standalone novels by Colleen Hoover, publishing in 2024 and 2026. Sphere has also acquired two brand new thrillers from the TikTok star, as well as Too Late, her previously independently published psychological suspense novel.

S&S and Sphere will alternate the romance and suspense titles yearly for the next five years.

Senior commissioning editor for fiction at S&S Molly Crawford bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Nicole Bond at Atria Books via Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. S&S will publish in hardback.

Tilda Key, editorial director at Little, Brown imprint Sphere, obtained UK and Commonwealth rights in the two untitled thrillers from Nancy Wiese at Grand Central Publishing, on behalf of Dystel. She also secured UK and Commonwealth rights for Too Late from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein, on behalf of Dystel and rights director Lauren Abramo.

Hoover is the bestselling author of multiple novels and novellas including Verity (Sphere) and It Ends With Us (S&S). She has sold more than 20 million copies across her titles, according to her publishers, and is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a non-profit book subscription service and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Crawford said: “Colleen writes the most emotionally engaging and irresistible books that never fail to transfix her audience. It Ends With Us, Ugly Love and November 9 – to name just a few of her amazing books – have enraptured readers and that popularity has changed the landscape of the market. With the growing excitement over It Starts With Us, it’s with great excitement that we look towards these future novels and our plans to build Colleen to even greater heights.”

Key said: “Walk into any bookshop or talk to any book lover and Colleen Hoover’s name is sure to come up. She has had an unmatched 2022 with total domination of the charts, including Sphere’s own Verity, which has now spent 12 weeks in the Sunday Times top 10. 

“We’re proud to sign three more thrillers that are sure to be equally mind-blowing, as Verity fast approaches one million copies sold in our territories, and as we publish a beautiful collector’s edition with a brand-new ending. Colleen’s thriller publishing is off to a hugely exciting start and we can’t wait to publish these new books alongside our colleagues at Grand Central.”