Jessie Botterill, Commissioning Editor at Bookouture, has signed a deal with Clare Boyd, via Broo Doherty at DHH Literary Agency.

The offer was made just 24 hours after submission, and is for WEL rights in two domestic dramas; Little Liar, a tense and terrifying portrayal of family life spinning out of control, will be published in February 2018, with the second novel following in April 2018.

Jessie said:
Little Liar was one of those submissions I knew I had to stop everything for and read. Clare’s writing had me on a knife-edge, reading with my heart in my mouth through every nail-biting page. It’s is an extraordinary book that delivers on every possible level and I know Clare has a very exciting career ahead of her.

Broo Doherty said:
I was blown away by Jessie’s enthusiasm for this book; from the moment I submitted it to her, I was conscious that she was just the right editor, and I know that she will publish it with that passion which will drive the book into the hands of the perfect reader. I couldn’t be more pleased with the deal.

​Clare Boyd said:
I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Jessie and Peta and all of the Bookouture team. Their energy and creativity is inspirational, and I can’t wait for the publication of my first novel, Little Liar, in February 2018.

​Follow Clare on Twitter: @ClareBoydClark

Noel O'Reilly's debut book Wrecker has been bought by Harper Collins imprint, HQ.

HQ Editor Kate Mills issued the fastest pre-empt Noel's agent David Headley has ever seen. Billed as a "Poldark​-esque", the pre-empt was sent along with a page from the Sherborne Mercury from the 1800s, tied to a traditional Cornish hevva cake (which we can confirm was delicious). 

Wrecker is set in a remote Cornish fishing village where a young woman, Mary Blight, loots the corpses washed up from the shipwrecks. Unlacing the books of a drowned noblewoman, Mary finds herself the focus of rumour and suspicion when the body's ears are discovered to have been bitten off, along with a pair of priceless earrings.

Kate Mills said:
"From the opening line of Wrecker, I was utterly entranced by this wonderful debut, which reads like a gloriously gothic update on Jamaica Inn. Not only does Noel O'Reilly breathe life in to the past, he's got an amazing capacity to bring darkness and terror to it as well, weaving a world steeped in superstition, where not conforming is the worst of crimes. Mary is a woman ahead of her time, vibrant, wily and cunning."

Agent David Headley said:
"Wrecker is an impressive debut and the offer from Kate was the fastest pre-empt I have ever received. There was an immediate excitement and interest when the book went out on submission, which confirmed my belief that Noel had written a very special book and had created a memorable, spirited and shrewd character in Mary Blight."

DHH client Noel O'Reilly said:
​"Ever since I first breathed the magical air of Cornwall, I've been back again and again. Writing Wrecker allowed me to return there for many intense months, this time in my imagination. I am thrilled that HQ is going to unleash my heroine Mary on to an unsuspecting world."

Wrecker​ is set for release in summer 2018.

​Follow Noel on Twitter: @noeloreilly

Congratulations, Ada! We are so happy to be working with you. 

Please click here to see more about this spell-bindingly clever book. 

​Follow Ada on Twitter: @Ada_Palmer