'Unsettling and thrilling' debut to Borough Press

The Borough Press has acquired OOLA, an "unsettling and thrilling" debut novel by Brittany Newell, a 21-year old Stanford University student.

In her first acquisition for Borough Press, newly appointed editor Charlotte Cray bought UK rights – with exclusive Europe and Commonwealth – from Zoe Ross at United Agents. Rights have also been sold to Sarah Bowlin at Henry Holt in the US.

OOLA is a dark story of obsession, following two 20-somethings as they spend the summer house-sitting the mansions, cabins and villas of the wealthy.

Cray said: "Newell is a wunderkind, her prose is by turns juicy and stunning. OOLA takes you down the rabbit hole of a relationship where love twists with obsession. It’s a beautifully dark read, entertaining as hell and a startling flip on the male gaze. I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring such an exciting young writer to the Borough Press list."

Ross said: "What a thrill to have found a bold UK home for this dazzling debut novel. There is nothing else like OOLA, and I can't wait to see it on bookshelves next year."

Newell said: "I am truly beyond stoked, or should I say, chuffed, to be brought into the Borough Press family. I cannot imagine an imprint with a clearer, more compelling vision, and I greatly look forward to a long and beautiful partnership."

Newell is the winner of the Norman Mailer Prize for Fiction and writes a monthly column for Dazed online.

Borough Press will publish OOLA in 2017.