Virago picks up Fitzpatrick's 'dazzling' debut in two-book deal

Virago has acquired Aoife Fitzpatrick's The Red Bird Sings, a feminist historical gothic debut which won the Lucy Cavendish Prize in 2020, plus a second novel.

Rose Tomaszewska, editorial director, bought world all language rights at auction for two novels from Nelle Andrew at Rachel Mills Literary and plans to publish in spring 2023. Kate Hibbert and Andy Hine at Little, Brown are handling international rights.

Based on a real trial and set in West Virginia in 1897, the debut will follow Mary Jane, who after the sudden death of her daughter Zona Shue only a few months after her impromptu wedding, has a vision that she was in fact killed by her new husband, Trout. The synopsis explains: "Mary Jane, known for following famous spiritualists and for criticising Zona when she was alive, is shattered by her conviction. Yet no-one believes her. Her only ally is the eccentric Lucy Frye – an unmarried woman who always suspected Trout’s power over her friend. As the trial raises to fever pitch and the men of Greenbrier County stand aligned against them, Mary Jane and Lucy must decide whether to play with fire and reveal Zona’s greatest secret. But it’s Zona herself, from beyond the grave, who still has one last revelation to make." 

Tomaszewska said: "The meeting in which I first presented The Red Bird Sings will go down in my memory as one of the most excitable responses I’ve ever had to a project. It captivated the whole team at Virago and Little, Brown, who were up all night with goosebumps reading Aoife Fitzpatrick’s stunning prose and gripping story. It’s hard to believe such an accomplished, exquisitely beautiful novel is her first. We plan a huge campaign for The Red Bird Sings and for Aoife’s future career at Virago."

Fitzpatrick commented: "The first time I spoke with Rose Tomaszewska about the women of The Red Bird Sings, I knew that Virago Press would be the ideal home for my debut novel. I’m excited to be working with this talented team whose sparkling imagination and fierce insight promise to connect readers with Zona, Mary Jane and Lucy in thrilling and meaningful ways. I can think of no one better to bring these historical characters to the contemporary world where their challenges – and the choices that they make in rising to them – have such profound resonance. My thanks, also, to my exceptional agent, Nelle Andrew for her ongoing faith and skill."