W&N lands three from award-winning Watson

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired three novels from Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness (Chatto).

Katie Espiner bought UK and Commonwealth rights in Moral Injuries and two further novels from Sophie Lambert at C&W. Anna Stein at CAA is representing US rights.

The story of three women, all doctors, Moral Injuries is set in and around a busy London hospital and “reminds us that anyone can become dangerous under the wrong circumstances – even those we entrust with our lives". Moral Injuries will be a major launch title for W&N in spring 2024.

Watson’s first novel, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away (Quercus), won the Costa First Novel Prize. Her work has been translated into 23 languages and adapted for the theatre. She was a nurse for over 20 years and is Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of East Anglia.

Watson said: “I’ve long admired courtroom dramas and police procedurals, as well as female-led twisty-turny thrillers. I can’t think of a better setting to explore morality than medicine, or a more urgent one.”

Espiner described Watson as “an unbelievably gifted writer”, and added: “Enveloped in a propulsive plot are questions about ethics and morality, about the pressure on those working in the NHS and the consequences of when it can become too much to bear. It’s an honour to be working with a writer who brings so much humanity and compassion to the most complex of moral issues.”

Lambert commented: “This is a ’read on the edge of your seat’ narrative which tackles the knottiest ethical dilemmas and pushes the reader to contemplate how far they would go to protect those they love the most.”