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Stephanie Garber moves from Hodder & Stoughton to Orion with first adult novel
YA fantasy author Stephanie Garber is set to move from Hodder & Stoughton to Orion with her first adult novel. The new book by the author of the Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series will be published under the Gollancz imprint.
Editorial director Bethan Morgan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Alchemy of Secrets from Molly Ker Hawn at The Bent Agency. The book will publish simultaneously with the US in September 2025 in hardback, export trade paperback, e-book and audiobook.
The new book is Garber’s first set outside the world of Caraval and is instead set in the heart of a Hollywood fuelled by deals with the Devil.
The synopsis states: "It starts with a class in an old movie theatre called Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction. But… most students don’t have the same tragic past as Holland St James. Now a graduate student, Holland is hoping to use her thesis to rewrite her past by proving that some of the most infamous deaths in old Hollywood were actually murders committed by the Devil. She has no idea that this quest will lead her into a deadly world of century-old secrets and lies and onto the path of two very dangerous men, both of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to find a magic that will either forever alter Holland’s life or completely destroy it."
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As part of the deal, Gollancz will reissue both the Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series in new hardback special editions and B-format paperback editions starting this summer.
Garber said: "I feel as if I shouldn’t say this but, honestly, I’m so nervous right now. Alchemy of Secrets marks my first departure from the Caraval universe, which has been thrilling for me as a writer, but it is also a little terrifying. This book is quite different. I leaned hard into my love of fast-paced thrillers. But I also wrote in a lot of the familiar things that I love: everyone is lying, no one is who they say, the world is full of magic and characters are kissing people that they shouldn’t. So, while this book might feel unexpected, I also think it is still very me. I’m really proud of this story, and I hope new and old readers enjoy it."
Morgan said: "I was a Waterstones bookseller when Caraval came out so I remember the feral dawning of Stephanie’s readership and the sheer ardour her stories elicit, like stepping wide-eyed into Wonderland or Oz or Narnia for the very first time with characters you want to follow forever. I’ve been an avid fan of her worlds ever since."
