Tor Nightfire UK acquires Josh Malerman’s ‘insidious’ Incidents Around the House

Tor Nightfire UK, part of Pan Macmillan, has acquired Incidents Around the House and one untitled novel by Josh Malerman.

Editorial director Sophie Robinson acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Jenny Meyer at Jenny Meyer Literary Agency, and will publish Incidents Around the House on 27th March 2025. North American rights were sold to Del Rey US, at PRH.

The synopsis reads: “To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddy and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: ‘Can I go inside your heart?’

“When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.”

Robinson said: “Josh Malerman is one the great horror heavyweights and Incidents Around the House just shows he’s getting better with every book. It has to be the most insidious, creeping supernatural horror I’ve ever read, and my nerves were shredded by the end. It’s an honour to welcome Josh to Tor Nightfire UK and I can’t wait to publish this masterclass in terror next year.”

Malerman has written 40 books, including 14 prior to the publication of his debut, Bird Box (HarperCollins). He is also one of two singer/songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. “I realise I live a life of letters, but it’s difficult to articulate how ebullient I am at the prospect of working with Sophie Robinson and Tor UK,” he said. “It’s the stuff fantasies are made of, but here: it’s come true. The goal now is to scare readers so deeply, they believe the books long after the last page.”