Titan swoops for Herman's YA fantasy

Titan Books has swooped for The Drowning Summer, a YA fantasy novel by Christine Lynn Herman.

Managing editor George Sandison acquired UK and Commonwealth English rights from Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein on behalf of Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, for publication in spring 2022.

The publisher explained: “The Drowning Summer is a lyrical coming-of-age ghost story, that follows two Long Island teenagers and fledgling mediums as they investigate a murder that rocked their small town six years earlier when three teenagers were found drowned with sand dollars laid over their eyes. It is the latest addition to Titan Books’ bestselling and award-winning commercial YA list, and follows the author’s popular The Devouring Gray duology, published in 2019 and 2020.”

Sandison said: "The Drowning Summer captures the irreducible sense of power and magic in youth and frames it in a wonderful story of taking responsibility and seizing your potential, that fans of Christine Lynn Herman, new and old, will love."

The author added: “I am passionate about everything I write, but this book feels particularly special due to the setting I've chosen – the area my family is from – and the themes I've been able to explore. The Drowning Summer has a lot to say about queer first love, complex family dynamics, life and death, and climate change's effect on the Long Island beaches where I spent so much of my childhood. I'm really proud of it, and I believe fans of The Devouring Gray duology and new readers alike will connect to the story.”