Laura Barnett's new book Salvage to W&N

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired Laura Barnett's third book, Salvage.

UK and Commonwealth rights were bought by Kirsty Dunseath, Weidenfeld & Nicolson publisher, from Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton, to publish the book in summer 2019.

Salvage is told in four parts – spring, summer, autumn and winter - over the course of one year, and is the story of a 72-year-old woman, Stella, who has built up a company with her husband that is now one of the country’s premier specialists in architectural salvage. At the start of the novel, Stella makes a radical decision that will totally overturn her past, sending shockwaves through her family and forcing them to reassess everything they had believed to be true.

Barnett’s debut novel, The Versions of Us, sold over 240,000 copies in the UK, according to W&N, and has been translated into 25 languages. It spent 10 weeks in The Sunday Times hardback bestseller list, was chosen for both the WH Smith Richard & Judy and Waterstones’ book clubs and was also shortlisted for Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards. It has also been optioned for TV by Trademark Films. 

Barnett's second novel, Greatest Hits, will be published in June 2017 and will feature a collaboration with Mercury-nominated singer Kathryn Williams, as reported on in November.

Barnett is a freelance arts journalist based in South London. She said: "At the heart of Salvage are some big questions - what it takes to sustain a marriage across decades; what secrets may lie unspoken at the centre of a family; when, and how, we decide to mend something that is broken, or to let it go. I'm really looking forward to exploring these questions in the novel, and to sharing it with the readers whose interest and enthusiasm mean such a lot to me."

Dunseath added: "Laura is an outstandingly talented author and we are absolutely delighted and excited about her new novel. She is truly creative, innovative, and it is always a joy to work with her."