Old Street Publishing and DKW Literary Agency are delighted to announce that Old Street have acquired AUGURY, the mesmerising third novel from S. E. Lister.
Ben Yarde-Buller acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in AUGURY, a literary thriller with a darkly magical edge, from Bryony Woods at Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary Agency.
The people of an ancient city awaken one night to find the earth beneath them trembling. But only the Augur, a fearless prophetess who was once the power behind the throne, sees the fate that awaits them.
As the skies darken and portents threaten, a handful of people are drawn to do the Augur’s bidding. Fierce Saba and pale-haired Aemilia, her young acolytes, stolen from their homes long ago. Myloxenes, gentle son of the savage High Priest; and crippled Antonus, the man who should have been Emperor. In the city’s last days, each will be tested.
Their dearest hopes may not survive the fire that is to come.
Ben Yarde-Buller said: “We publish very little new fiction, and when we do it’s because we can’t help ourselves. Sophie Lister’s new novel, Augury, presents a breathtakingly well-imagined civilisation on the brink of apocalypse that is at once exotic and strangely familiar, timeless and relevant. Admirers of Hideous Creatures and The Immortals will recognise the gorgeous prose, the haunting (yet precise) imagery, the urgency of the quest for meaning and truth; in Augury, these qualities are united with a plot to rival any thriller and a complex, unforgettable heroine. We think this is prize-winningly good.”
Sophie Lister said: “’I’m so happy to be working with Old Street for a third time to bring Augury out into the world. I’ve been carrying this story for many years and I think it’s arriving at an apt time – into a world of power struggles, apocalyptic fears, and brave truth-tellers. I hope readers are swept up by this strange vision, just as I’ve been.”
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