Transworld acquires unagented debut thriller What Alice Knew

Transworld Publishers has acquired What Alice Knew, an "addictive" psychological thriller by an unagented debut author T A Cotterell.

The book asks the question "how far would you go to protect the one you love?" Transworld editor Lizzy Goudsmit and publishing direction Susanna Wadeson acquired world rights directly from the author.

They said: “There’s nothing more delicious than realising, a few pages in, that you’re in the hands of a confident, skilled writer, and that you absolutely have to know what will happen next. It is all the more exciting when the manuscript has arrived without agent or hype and by chance. Discovering What Alice Knew was incredibly exciting and it is going to surprise, tantalise and delight readers in their droves.”

Cotterell, a History of Art graduate from Cambridge, worked in the City before resigning to become a freelance writer. He is now also a writer and editor at research house Redburn. He said: “I have been amazed by the energy, attention to detail, inspiration and all-in commitment of the team at Transworld. I am hugely excited to be working with them.”

What Alice Knew will be published by Transworld on the 20th April 2017.