DKW is delighted to announce two further deals for acclaimed author Virginia Macgregor.
HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, have acquired World English rights to Wishbones, Virginia Macgregor’s debut YA, and a second untitled YA novel. Wishbones is a truly powerful YA story of the struggles that a teenager faces when living with an overweight mother whose health is suffering.
Anna Baggaley, HQ Senior Editor, bought the rights from Bryony Woods at Diamond Kahn and Woods.
Feather Tucker loves her mum more than anyone else in the entire world. They tell each other everything. There’s only one problem: at 37 stone, Feather’s mum is one of the most overweight people in England.
When Feather comes home one New Year’s Eve to find her mother in a diabetic coma, she realises that this is a serious wakeup call. Something has to be done if she’s to save her mum’s life and pull her ever-more-distant family back together. But when Mum refuses to co-operate with Feather’s attempts to help her, Feather realises that her mum’s problems run deeper than just an unhealthy appetite.
Over time, Feather’s mission to help Mum becomes an investigation. When did her mum’s life spiral out of control, and why? What secret has her mum been hiding from her for all of these years? And most importantly: can Feather fix it?
Anna Baggaley said: “Virginia’s writing is so exceptional powerful and Wishbones truly blew me away. I feel so very privileged to have the opportunity to work on such an important book that tackles issues and emotions that are so very real in a sensitive, moving and unforgettable way.”
Virginia Macgregor said: “I knew from my first conversation with Anna from HQ that I’d found the right home for Wishbones. It’s an important story which I hope will resonate with young people today. The story means a great deal to me on a personal level too. I can’t wait to share this, my first YA novel, with my readers and I know that HQ will do a wonderful job of getting it out into the world.”
Bryony Woods at Diamond Kahn and Woods added: “I knew from the moment Virginia first mentioned Wishbones to me that it was going to be a very special novel indeed, and I’m thrilled that it has found such a wonderful home with Anna and the team at HQ, and at such an exciting time for the list.”
Wishbones will be published in on 9th March 2017 in paperback original, £7.99, and ebook, £4.99.
And in further deal news, Sphere have acquired World rights to two further adult novels from Macgregor. The first of these, Before I Was Yours, will publish in summer 2017. Before I Was Yours will follow the story of husband and wife, Rosie and Sam, as they begin the process of adoption after they find out they’re not able to have children of their own. They choose Jonah, a young boy from Kenya, and all is going well until Jonah falls ill, forcing Rosie and Sam to decide how far they’re prepared to go for a child who isn’t their own.
Commissioning editor, Manpreet Grewal said: “Virginia is an outstanding talent and writes utterly heartfelt family dramas like no one else. She expertly combines multiple narrative voices with the innocence of childhood and the uncertainty of adulthood and does so with sophistication. She’s an utter joy to read and I’m looking forward to working with her on more emotional and poignant novels.”
Author, Virginia Macgregor said: “I’m so thrilled that my next two novels will be published by Manpreet and the Sphere team: I know that they will do a wonderful job of building on the success of What Milo Saw and The Return of Norah Wells. I can’t wait to share my new stories with readers: more gripping family dramas and more characters to fall in love with.”
Agent, Bryony Woods said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Sphere has acquired a further two novels from Virginia Macgregor. Sphere published Virginia’s first two novels, What Milo Saw and The Return of Norah Wells, with such passion and dedication, and I couldn’t think of a better team to build on this success with more of Virginia Macgregor’s wonderfully thought-provoking fiction.”
Praise for What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor
“A modern-day fable and undoubtedly a future classic” Clare Mackintosh, author of Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling I Let You Go
“A life-affirming read . . . Warm, wise and insightful” Good Housekeeping
“Sharp, funny and hugely moving, this is a must read” Fabulous
“It is impossible not to fall in love with nine-year-old Milo in this touching novel” Stylist
“The characterisation and dialogue make it easy to feel empathy for the family and readers will cheer Milo on to achieve his goal” Sun
“[An] understated and likeable tale that just might restore your faith in human nature” Bella
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