Solaris to publish debut novella by Em X. Liu
27th March 2023
Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu, the second of the 2023 Solaris Satellites novellas, to be published in June 2023.
Being an intern at One Wizard sounds magical on the page, but in practice mostly means getting yelled at by senior mages and angry clients alike. And so, after receiving a frantic call from a young man who’s awoken to a talisman on his bedroom wall—and no memory of how it got there—Journeyman Wen jumps at the chance to escape call-center duty and actually help someone for once.
But the case ends up being more complicated than Wen could ever have anticipated. The client has been possessed by a demon prince from Hell, and he’s not interested in leaving.
World English Language Rights were acquired by David Moore from Penelope Burns at Gelfman Schneider.
Author Em X. Liu on the acquisition:
“If Found, Return to Hell is an attempt to rediscover the magic in mundanity: carving out satisfaction in your work, how to balance a helping instinct with your own happiness, living with the guilt of not calling your mom for weeks, a warm meal, friends that turn into family, etc. I am so excited to bring it to you with the help of the Solaris Satellites program; I hope it will be the perfect size to dig into, but not too hearty—a nourishing meal in these trying times.”
Acquiring Editor David Moore:
“Em could hardly have found a more susceptible editor! As an immigrant myself I delighted in the found family storyline, and as a parent I ached with the impulse to protect someone a little bit helpless; but the frustration and tedium of the call centre? That I felt right in the bottom of my crusty old Gen-X soul. If Found, Return to Hell is strange, lovely, incredibly humane and utterly delightful.”
Em X. Liu is a writer and recent biochemistry graduate, which means they love stories about artificial intelligence and Shakespeare in equal measure. Since immigrating to Canada, they never go long without hopping on a plane to wander new places. But out of all the cities they’ve been to, they still love their home in Toronto the most. Their debut novel, The Death I Gave Him, will be published by Solaris in September 2023.
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