S&S signs Mason's 'delicious and playful' YA series

Simon & Schuster Children’s Books has acquired Rock, Paper, Killers, the "delicious and playful" first in a line of YA thrillers by Alexia Mason, a new pseudonym for Irish crime writer Alex Barclay. 

Rachel Denwood, m.d. of the division, acquired world rights, in all languages, in an exclusive submission from Eve White at Eve White Literary Agency. S&S will publish the book as a lead title in paperback original, e-book and audio on 17th February 2022

When a group of Dublin teenagers arrive at a rural cliff-top college to cram for their final exams, their most pressing concern is the prospect of a month with no partying. Little do they know that one of them will never make it back home. "Rock, Paper, Killers is a story of hidden rivalries, secret romance and shocking revelations, and is the perfect read for fans of Karen M McManus and Holly Jackson," the synopsis reads. 

Denwood said: "We’re looking to build more success in this dynamic area of the market, and I have had my eye out for a new voice that could stand out in the crime thriller space. Enter Alexia Mason! Not only is Rock, Paper, Killers a genius thrill of a whodunit, it is the most delicious, playful study of teenagers at their darkest, funniest and most Machiavellian. Readers are going to devour it."

Mason is the author of adult crime novels Darkhouse and The Caller, as well as the Ren Bryce series, all published with HarperCollins. Rock, Paper, Killers is her first YA novel.

She said of her new series: "All any author wants is for their books to fall into the right hands—agent, publisher and reader. I’m thrilled and honoured that Rock, Paper Killers—in the expert hands of Eve White, Rachel Denwood and the team at Simon & Schuster Children’s—will be carried onward to whomever wants to whiten their knuckles on the dark tale of a college, and five students, on the edge."