The Borough Press pre-empts Sue's 'laugh-out-loud' debut in six-figure two-book deal

The Borough Press has pre-empted Natalie Sue’s debut I Hope This Finds You Well in a six-figure two-book deal. 

Kimberley Young, executive publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Heather Shapiro at Baror International. Amy Perkins, commissioning editor, will be publishing the hardback in summer 2024.  

The novel was also sold in the US to Julia Elliott at William Morrow, in a "major" deal by Melanie Figueroa and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary. Julia McDowell acquired at HarperCollins Canada. The book has also been snapped up in Italy, Germany and Hungary. 

I Hope This Finds You Well tells the story of Jolene: “socially anxious, isolated, and hates her boring office job”. The synopsis says: “To cope with the daily drudgery, she details petty office grievances via hidden messages in emails to her colleagues. But when one of the messages is exposed, and HR restrictions on her computer results in an IT mix-up that instead grant her access to her co-workers’ inboxes and DMs, she decides to turn the tables in the face of impending layoffs.” 

Perkins said: “It’s been a long time since I’ve met such an engaging cast of characters as the ones Natalie has conjured in her debut novel. Not only laugh-out-loud funny, Jolene is such an endearing personality that you race to the end of the novel, desperate to discover how things will work out for her. I am delighted to be a part of Natalie’s exciting global publication next year."

Sue said: "I’m thrilled to be working with Amy and her team. The enthusiasm The Borough Press has shown for I Hope This Finds You Well has far exceeded my dreams, and I’m delighted my debut will be making its way to the UK. I can’t wait for readers to meet Jolene and the rest of the cast."