Tor UK clinches Sarah Langan's 'razor sharp' Trad Wife

Tor UK, part of Pan Macmillan, has announced the acquisition of Trad Wife by three-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Sarah Langan.

Editorial director Sophie Robinson acquired world all-languages from Stacia Decker at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency.

The synopsis states: “Welcome to Black Swan. A picture-perfect 300-acre Pennsylvania farm, home to lifestyle influencer Mia Wright, her all-American husband Gray and their eight children. Millions of followers from around the world watch every day as Mia makes meals from scratch, milks the cows, home schools the kids, cleans the house wearing a smile and an immaculate blow-dry.

“Sent on assignment by her magazine, and desperate to claw back a tarnished career, reporter Jenny Kaplan will spend a week profiling Mia and her family. She arrives at the remote farmhouse ready to pen a scathing expose, but finds it impossible. Mia really is that sunny and sweet, her husband that kind and handsome.

“Before long, Jenny begins to question her own life choices. Wouldn’t it be nice to just give up this silly career, be more like Mia, baking sourdough and loved by everyone? But the answer is darker than she realises. Because Black Swan always has a price.”

Robinson comments: “With Sarah’s trademark razor-sharp prose, and her unerring ability to uncover the nightmares at the heart of suburbia, this is Get Out meets Behind Her Eyes with echoes of The Yellow Wallpaper.”

Langan says: “This is the book I’ve been wanting to write for a very long time.”  

Langan got her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and also received her Master’s in Environmental Health Science/Toxicology from New York University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughters. She has received three Bram Stoker Awards, a US-based horror prize, and is a founding board member of the Shirley Jackson Awards. 

Tor UK will publish Trad Wife in May 2026.