Transworld pre-empts Liza Anderson’s début fantasy trilogy in six-figure deal

Transworld has pre-empted Liza Anderson’s We Who Have No Gods, a dark academia fantasy novel, for a six-figure sum in a three-book deal. 

Senior commissioning editor Imogen Nelson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Suzannah Ball at WME. We Who Have No Gods, the first book in a trilogy, will publish in hardback under Transworld’s Bantam imprint in early 2026. US rights previously sold to Natalie Hallak at Ballantine (PRH US) in a three-book pre-empt by Caitlin Mahony at WME. Translation rights have also sold in pre-empts in Germany (Heyne) and Spain/Latin America (Alfaguara).

Pitched for readers of R F Kuang’s Babel and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, We Who Have No Gods follows Vic Wood, whose life begins to crumble when she discovers her missing mother belonged to the Acheron Order, a secret society of witches who keep creatures from the realm of the dead at bay

The synopsis continues: “Vic hasn’t inherited her mother’s powers, but the discovery takes her to Avalon Castle, a gothic academy hidden deep in the wilderness. There, she must navigate the politics of a strange and secret world on the brink of war – and a dangerous attraction to an Order leader who wants her gone.”

Anderson said: “We Who Have No Gods is a story about power. The power of love, the power of fear, and the power of an outsider to disrupt the established order. I’m thrilled it’s found a home with Bantam in the UK, and I’m so excited to work with Imogen Nelson. I can’t wait to see the world we create together.”

“I couldn’t help but fall for the pure alchemy of We Who Have No Gods with its delicious, gothic atmosphere, perfectly choreographed monster-hunting action sequences and simmering romantic tension,” said Nelson. “The series is grounded in a familiar world, but it’s also full of shimmering magic, and I know readers around the world will be just as enchanted by Liza’s writing as I have been.”