The Borough Press snaps up ‘girlfriend robot’ novel in double pre-empt

The Borough Press has acquired Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (also known as YA author Caragh M O’Brien) in a double pre-empt with Mariner in the US.

Suzie Dooré, editor at large for The Borough Press, pre-empted the title in conjunction with Kate Nintzel for Mariner Books at HarperCollins US from Kirby Kim at Janklow and Nesbit for world English rights. Borough and Mariner will publish in hardback in March 2024.

The story of a ‘girlfriend robot’ and her life under the thumb of her human owner, Annie Bot explores abusive relationships through the lens of Artificial Intelligence.

The synopsis reads: "Annie Bot focuses on Annie, a lifelike robot created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human boyfriend, Doug. She makes dinner for him every night, she wears the clothes he buys her, and can even raise her libido on command and warm her body to 98.6°F before sex. But as Annie grows more self-aware, she starts to wonder. What would life be like outside Doug’s apartment? Could she ever be more than the perfect girlfriend, more than Annie Bot?”

O’Brien said: “I’m incredibly grateful to be working with Suzie Dooré and Kate Nintzel.” Dooré added: “Annie Bot had me from the first line and I remained hooked until the last. It pushes every one of my buttons.”