Viking pre-empts Imani Erriu’s Heavenly Bodies series 

Viking has acquired Imani Erriu’s Heavenly Bodies series, described as a “celestial, chemistry-filled enemies-to-lovers Romantasy”.

Editorial director Vikki Moynes pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Imogen Bovill at Abner Stein. North American rights were acquired by Amanda Ferreira for Random House Canada, from Jill Marr at the Dijkstra Agency.

Heavenly Bodies is pitched as A Court of Thorns and Roses (Bloomsbury) meets astrology and Greek mythology, in which the prince and princess from the rival kingdoms of Night and Light must band together to fight the king of the Stars, while avoiding the temptation of their forbidden – and sizzling – attraction to one another.

Erriu’s first two books were initially self-published and a TikTok video, containing a snippet of Heavenly Bodies, went viral, gaining 4.8 million views. Since then, the author has sold over 13,000 copies of Heavenly Bodies and gained 85.6k followers on TikTok. Her original manuscript is no longer available, and a newly revised and edited version will be available in e-book, hardback and audio in November, along with a new cover.

Moynes said: “I finished Heavenly Bodies at 4 am on the day it was submitted, completely rapt. The world-building is like nothing I’ve seen before and Elara is the perfect tough and complicated central character. I’m so excited to launch this talented author and this amazing series this November.”

Erriu said: “Heavenly Bodies, at its core, is an ode to mythology. Much like our ancestors who would sit around campfires and tell stories inspired by the elements around them, I too wanted to create legends about the stars, the skies, and a love that traverses them. I am so thrilled that I get to recount these celestial tales with the help of my incredible teams at Viking and Random House Canada.”