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S&S swipes Swain's standalone in four-book deal
Simon & Schuster UK has renewed its relationship with commercial novelist Heidi Swain in a new four-book deal.
Fiction publishing director Clare Hey bought world all-language rights from Amanda Preston at LBA.
The first book in the new deal, The Book-Lovers’ Retreat, will publish in spring 2023. Set in the Lake District, it tells the story of three friends who spend the whole summer in a hideaway cottage, the real-life setting of their favourite book. "As the summer develops, so will their friendship, they will find love in all its forms and, as a result, their lives will change course forever," the synopsis reads.
Swain was discovered by S&S in 2014 through Books and the City’s #OneDay open submissions initiative, a publishing platform developed to promote commercial female fiction. Since publishing her first book The Cherry Tree Café in 2015, Swain’s novels have sold more than half a million copies across all formats, according to the publisher. Her novels have been translated into five languages.
"Heidi is a real Simon & Schuster success story—from her first novel, which was discovered through our open day of submissions, to Sunday Times bestsellers, she has created a brand identity and faithful readership in just eight years," Hey said. "In The Book-Lovers’ Retreat she is stepping out of her series into a standalone story and I am so excited to be publishing it in 2023."
Swain added: "I’m thrilled to have written my first standalone novel, which I have set in a part of the country I love and which was initially inspired by a comment made by my daughter while watching Netflix. Her words sparked one of those wonderful lightbulb moments and I have thoroughly enjoyed transforming it into a story filled with love, hope and friendship."
Preston commented: "Heidi writes gorgeous novels, full of emotion, warmth and wonderful characters. She is utterly fantastic to work with and a huge champion of her fellow writers. I’m so excited about this new deal with Simon & Schuster."
