Tag: acquisitions

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Solaris to publish Tlingit epic fantasy by Caskey Russell

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition The Raven and Eagle Series, consisting of The Door on the Sea and its two sequels, by Caskey Russell.

From member of the Tlingit Nation of Alaska, Caskey Russell, The Door on the Sea is a Tlingit answer to Tolkien in which a bookish outcast must lead a crew including warriors, a giant wolf, and the mythical Raven to steal the only weapon that can defeat the shapeshifting colonists that threaten his community.

A modern, Indigenous reclamation of the quest fantasy genre, an ode to the power of storytelling, and an alternate-history retelling of white missionary colonialism, The Door on the Sea is a rich, adventurous debut for fans of Black Sun and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

World All Languages Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Lauren Bajek at Liza Dawson Literary Agency. The Door on the Sea will be released in September 2025.

Author Caskey Russell on the acquisition:

“I am thrilled and delighted to be working with Solaris on The Door on the Sea and my entire Raven and Eagle Series. And I’m very grateful for Solaris for providing a way to share these stories, which are grounded in Tlingit culture, with the world. I want to thank Amy Borsuk and the entire Solaris team for working with me to bring these books to life!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing Caskey’s fun, magical and epic Tlingit fantasy series to the world. Caskey’s nautical quest tale draws from Tlingit mythos and his own personal sense of Tlingit identity as shared with his family and his clan. This wonderful story has a fantastic cast of characters, featuring a particularly crude yet wise raven, bear humans, wolf cousins, a bookish hero and the warriors holding him up. But it is also much more than that: it is a captivating and original portal fantasy adventure that comes from the heart and explores the messy, harmful and tangled reality of what happens when one’s world is shaken by the invasion of those claiming everything you know is a lie.”

Caskey Russell is from Seattle Washington, and has lived in Oregon, Iowa, Wyoming, and New Zealand. He is a father, a professor, a musician, and an enrolled member of the Tlingit Nation (Eagle / Kooyu Kwáan) of Alaska.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

For rights enquiries please contact Sam Birkett, Rights Manager: sam.birkett@rebellion.co.uk

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Solaris to publish The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau for the UK

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau for the UK, a Malaysian Chinese-inspired epic fantasy novel for fans of Squid Game and The Witcher in which a debt-ridden slumdog joins an illegal monster-fighting arena.

Lythlet and her only friend Desil are shackled to a life of debt and poverty that she fears they will never escape. Desperate for money, they sign up as conquessors: arena combatants who fight sun-cursed beasts in the seedy underworld of the city.

Match-master Dothilos is initially enamoured of Desil’s brawling reputation, but after seeing Lythlet lead the pair to triumph with her quick cunning, he takes her under his wing, scorning Desil. Ambition takes root in Lythlet’s heart as a life of fame and wealth unfolds in her imagination.

But Lythlet isn’t the only one out for coin and glory, and she soon finds herself playing an entirely different game—a game of politics and deception. As the cost of her ambition grows, she will have to decide if sacrificing her honour, and only friendship, is worth the chance to shape her own fortune.

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by Amanda Rutter from Keir Alekseii at Azantian Literary Agency.

The Serpent Called Mercy will be released in January 2025.

Author Roanne Lau on the acquisition:

“I am beyond delighted to be working with Solaris in bringing my debut The Serpent Called Mercy over to the UK and the Commonwealth. From day one, Amanda Rutter’s enthusiasm for my book has been nothing short of serotonin-boosting, and with her keen editorial eye and the brilliant Solaris team behind her, I have no doubt my book is in safe hands.”

Acquiring Editor Amanda Rutter:

“From the first time I read The Serpent Called Mercy, I knew that this was an exceptionally special book, which explores brilliant themes of friendship and the price of honour. Roanne’s writing is sublime, and I know readers will eat up Lythlet’s world.”

Roanne Lau is a speculative fiction author whose works are informed by her experiences living in Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan and being the descendant of Chinese immigrants. She was selected for the Pitch Wars mentorship program in 2021. The Serpent Called Mercy is her debut novel.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris acquires dark sci-fi debut The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Ganymedan by R.T. Ester, a dark and compelling science fiction debut that examines agency and sacrifice through one man’s desperate attempt to reach home.

The prodigal son of an anti-AI rebel faction, Kerwin Dotnet tried to make a life for himself as a mixologist on Mars. Now his tyrannical employer, the richest man alive, has been murdered, and K-Dot must depend on first-generation AI spaceship TR-8901 to get him to safety on Jupiter—or suffer a fate worse than death. But TR has a direct interest in identifying the murderer, and its devotion to law and order is the only thing keeping it from purposely self-destructing after 200 years of obsolescence.

World English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Jason Yarn at Jason Yarn Literary Agency.
The Ganymedan will be released in November 2025.

Author R.T. Ester on the acquisition:

“I am very pleased to have joined the Solaris family. Meeting Amy Borsuk last November, I connected instantly with her vision for The Ganymedan, her very observant take on its protagonist, and her enthusiasm for the themes it explores. I was quickly assured the story had found its home and, seeing a notable commitment to publishing thought-provoking fiction, I am thrilled it will be in the caring hands of the Solaris team. I look forward to working with Amy and everyone else to get my scorpion-and-turtle retelling that blends the transhumanist noir of Altered Carbon with the gritty spacefaring of The Expanse out into the world.”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be the editor for this provocative and brilliantly intense sci-fi story from R.T. Ester! This compelling story of one man’s doomed and determined journey home explores thought-provoking themes of agency and autonomy, and sacrifice in the name of goodness. It also has a brilliant outmoded, sentient spaceship who acts as counterpoint to everything. R.T. is a brilliant writer and those ready for darker shades of sci-fi, or journeys home, or sentient AI, will love this book.”

Originally from Nigeria, R.T. Ester moved to the United States in 1998 and, catching the creative bug early on, studied art with a focus on design. While working full time as a graphic designer, he began to write speculative fiction in his spare time and, since then, has had stories published in Interzone and Clarkesworld. The Ganymedan is his first novel.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris Nova to publish Regency fantasy trilogy by Natania Barron

We’re delighted to announce the latest addition to the Solaris Nova family: Netherford Hall by Natania Barron.

The first in a brand new trilogy combining the Regency era with witchcraft, Netherford Hall is a sapphic historical fantasy in which Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her family return to their ancestral seat of Netherford Hall in Kent, England following a mysterious fire in their London home. It’s there Edith faces a new threat in the form of her tenant: the chaotic and lovely Poppy Brightwell.

The women can’t deny the attraction growing between them, but Edith needs to marry for money to save her new home from usurpers—and Poppy’s very soul is at risk when she discovers the bargain her parents made with a being they thought was a witch.

Netherford Hall will hit shelves in August 2024!

World All Languages Rights were acquired by David Moore from Stacey Graham at 3 Seas Literary Agency.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk

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Solaris to publish sapphic Gothic horror The Needfire by MK Hardy

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Needfire, and a second fantasy novel, by MK Hardy.

For fans of Rebecca and The Hacienda, lush Gothic horror The Needfire brings 19th century Scotland to life as the financially ruined Norah Mackenzie accepts her father’s creditor’s hand in marriage and travels father to the north to his estate, Corrain House.

The land itself seems to speak to Norah: she is plagued by the cries of drowned sailors and the smell of burning thatch, remnants of the Clearances that swept the land decades before. Her only solace is a tumultuous and intense affair with housekeeper Agnes Gunn, who guards mist-wreathed secrets of her own. As the house begins to crumble beneath her feet, Norah must piece together the family and the land’s history to survive the ghosts haunting her – and make it out alive.

UK/BC English Language Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.

The Needfire will be released in July 2025.

Author MK Hardy on the acquisition:

“We are over the moon to be joining the list of authors published by Solaris, having admired their library of smart and diverse speculative books for some time. From our first call with Amy Borsuk we were invigorated by her enthusiasm and keen editorial eye and we can’t wait to work with her and the rest of the Solaris team. With their help we’ll ensure our Gothic horror The Needfire ensnares and bewitches readers, hopefully opening their eyes to an overlooked period in Scottish history and giving them a few scares – and swoons – along the way!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be working with the incredible team that is MK Hardy on a story that is so creepy, haunting, and gorgeous in equal measure. The Needfire is the Scottish queer Gothic horror we’ve always needed.”

MK Hardy is the pen name for Morag Hannah and Erin Hardee, two geeky women living and writing together in Scotland. They are both communications specialists working in higher education. With backgrounds ranging from museum interpretation to web design, and from science communication to ghost tours, they are devoted to storytelling in almost every aspect of their lives and work. When they are not telling stories they can be found singing in choirs, foraging for fungi, and working on their 1880s fixer-upper.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris snaps up Karin Lowachee’s dragon novella trilogy The Crowns of Ishia

Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Crowns of Ishia trilogy, including The Mountain Crown, The Desert Talon and a sequel, by Karin Lowachee.

Meka’s nomadic people, the Ba’Suon, were driven from their homeland by the Kattakans. Decades later, under a fragile truce, Meka returns for an ancient and necessary rite: culling a king dragon of the Crown Mountains to maintain balance in the wild country.

Accompanied by an imprisoned dragon, a Kattakan veteran of war and a Ba’Suon traitor, Meka soon discovers the survival of the Ba’Suon people, their dragons, and the land itself will depend on the choices she and her companions make in this gunslinging fantasy of colonialism and resistance.

World English Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Tamara Kawar at DeFiore & Company.

The Mountain Crown will be released in October 2024.

Author Karin Lowachee on the acquisition:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be a new part of the team at Solaris with The Mountain Crown and its sequels. I know my stories will thrive in the hands of Solaris as we work together to shepherd them into fruition. My heartfelt gratitude to Amy Borsuk and everyone at Solaris who are just as excited as I am to dive in!”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Karin Lowachee on this incredible series. At long last, I get to work on an epic dragon fantasy! I loved this series from the first page and I’m so excited to bring it to fantasy readers across the globe. Karin is able to pack a full world rich with dragons, personal traumas, intense cultural histories and politics of colonialism and empire into the novella form with such ease. Come for the dragons, stay for the beautiful storytelling, compelling characters and gunslinging flavour.”

Karin Lowachee was born in South America, grew up in Canada, and worked in the Arctic. She has been a creative writing instructor, adult education teacher, and volunteer in a maximum security prison. Her novels have been translated into French, Hebrew, and Japanese, and her short stories have been published in numerous anthologies, best-of collections, and magazines. When she isn’t writing, she serves at the whim of a black cat.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris to publish Matt Wallace’s Savage Company and Savage Bounty for the UK

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Savage Company and Savage Bounty by Matt Wallace for the UK.

An epic fantasy with a diverse ensemble cast for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Anna Smith Spark, Savage Company follows warrior Evie, charged by a grieving widow to find a man Evie herself once loved who holds the key to expose the dark underbelly of the Empire’s missing population.

UK/BC, excluding Canada, English Language Rights were acquired by David Moore from Becky LeJeune at Bond Literary Agency.

Savage Company, the first book in the series, will be released in April 2024.

Author Matt Wallace on the acquisition:

“Solaris publishes some of my absolute favourite authors in the genre right now. I’m beyond thrilled to join their ranks. I’m also grateful to David Moore, and to my wonderful agent, Becky LeJeune, for making this happen.”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“I’m a big fan of Matt’s, and the Savage Rebellion is the best kind of epic fantasy – gritty, smart and complex, but still hopeful and full of heart. This is really exciting!”

Matt Wallace is a Hugo Award winner and the author of the Sin du Jour series, the Savage Rebellion trilogy, and the middle grade novels Bump, The Supervillain’s Guide to Being a Fat Kid, and Nowhere Special. He’s also penned over one hundred short stories in addition to writing for film, television, and video games. In his youth he traveled the world as a professional wrestler and an unarmed combat and self-defense instructor before retiring to write full-time. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Nikki.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris to publish Southern vampire horror Bless Your Heart for the UK

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan for the UK.

Set in Southeast Texas in 1999, Bless Your Heart follows the Evans women—Ducey, Lenore and Grace—owners of the only funeral parlour in town, whose job for the past eighty years has been ensuring the dead stay dead. When the body of the town gossip rises from her coffin, it’s clear that the Strigoi―the original vampire―have returned.

As more folks turn up dead and Deputy Roger Taylor begins asking way too many questions, the Evans women must take up their blades to protect their town.

UK/BC Rights (excluding Canada) were acquired by Amanda Rutter from Kerry Nordling, Vice President/Director of Sub-Rights at Minotaur Books.

Bless Your Heart will be released in July 2024.

Author Lindy Ryan on the acquisition:

“I’m delighted to steep UK readers in Southern charm and introduce them to the Evans women and their monstrous southeast Texas hometown by working with Solaris on Bless Your Heart.”

Acquiring Editor Amanda Rutter:

“Lindy’s sharp, clever, funny writing is a perfect match for the Solaris list, and I am over the moon that we have signed Bless Your Heart for the UK market. I cannot wait for readers to enjoy the charm and terror of this amazing book.”

Lindy Ryan is a Bram Stoker Awards®-nominated and Silver Falchion Award-winning editor, author, short-film director, and professor. Ryan is the current author-in-residence at Rue Morgue, the world’s leading horror culture and entertainment brand, and a regular contributor at Booktrib and LitReactor. Her guest articles and features include NPR, BBC Culture, Irish Times, Daily Mail, and more. She is an active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA), the International Thriller Writers (ITW), and the Brothers Grimm Society of North America. In 2022, she was named one of horror’s most masterful anthology curators, alongside Ellen Datlow and Christopher Golden, and has been declared a “champion for women’s voices in horror” by Shelf Awareness (2023). Her animated short film, Trick or Treat, Alistair Gray, based on her children’s book of the same name, won the Grand Prix Award at the 2022 ANMTN Awards.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

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Solaris snaps up new and backlist titles by Aliya Whiteley

Solaris is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two brand new novels, and four backlist titles, by Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated author Aliya Whiteley.

A meta coming of age tale of stories within stories, Three Eight One follows Rowena Savalas, a curator of the 21st century’s primitive internet in the year 2314, who stumbles upon a story posted online in the summer of 2024 that leads her to question her own life choices and whether the truth behind the story really matters at all.

Previously published by Unsung Stories, Solaris will also reissue The Beauty, The Loosening Skin, The Arrival of Missives and Greensmith, with a tenth anniversary edition of The Beauty to be published in Summer 2024.

Three Eight One will be released in January 2024. World All Languages Rights for Three Eight One and a second title and exclusive rights in all languages and territories for The Beauty, The Loosening Skin, The Arrival of Missives and Greensmith were acquired by David Moore from Max Edwards at Aevitas Creative Management. Titan will continue to sublicense North American English language rights to The Beauty, The Loosening Skin and The Arrival of Missives from Solaris, as they previously had from Unsung Stories.

Author Aliya Whiteley on the acquisition:

“It’s a delight and a reassurance to know that Solaris will be publishing my novels and novellas, starting with my latest novel of adventure and discovery, Three Eight One, from 2024. Many thanks to David Moore and all at Solaris for deciding to champion my stories into the future.”

Acquiring Editor David Moore:

“Aliya is a ferocious talent, creating some of the smartest, weirdest, most hauntingly beautiful stuff in genre at the moment, and it’s an honour to be a part of that. Three Eight One is a gorgeous book, a coming-of-age story that’s also a road trip that’s also an exploration of generational tension that’s also a meandering commentary on authorship and authenticity that’s also one of the coolest bits of metafiction you’ll read this year.”

Aliya Whiteley’s strange novels and novellas explore genre, and have been shortlisted for multiple awards including the Arthur C Clarke award, BFS and BSFA awards, and a Shirley Jackson award. Her short fiction has appeared in many places including Beneath Ceaseless Skies, F&SF, Strange Horizons, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Lonely Planet and The Guardian. She writes a regular non-fiction column for Interzone magazine.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.

For rights enquiries please contact Reitha Pattison, Rights Manager: reitha.pattison@rebellion.co.uk

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Solaris to publish rising horror star Isabel Cañas for the UK

Solaris are thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Hacienda and Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas for the UK.

Cañas’s luscious Gothic debut, The Hacienda, follows newlywed Beatriz as she accompanies her husband to his countryside estate, Hacienda San Isidro. She tries to ignore the rumours surrounding the death of the wife who preceded her, but something is wrong with the hacienda and young priest Padre Andrés is her only ally against its malevolent presence.

In Vampires of El Norte Cañas returns to 19th century Mexico, where vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in a supernatural tale of two friends reunited after a tragedy that will satisfy fans of Netflix’s Midnight Mass.

The Hacienda will be released in October 2023, with Vampires of El Norte following in October 2024. English Language UK/BC Rights were acquired by Amy Borsuk from Tawanna Sullivan at Berkley, PRH.

Author Isabel Cañas on the acquisition:

“I am utterly thrilled that The Hacienda and Vampires of El Norte are making their way across the pond! The UK was my home for many years–I spent five years studying at the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh and as many again flying back and forth to London to visit my now-husband and beloved friends. I could not be more delighted to call it home once more, this time in the care of the brilliant Amy Borsuk and the whole Solaris team.”

Acquiring Editor Amy Borsuk:

“I’m so excited to be bringing Isabel’s fantastic horror books to the UK! Her haunted house and vampire stories set in 19th century Mexico are thrilling, refreshing and evocative. The way she weaves magic, hauntings, and monstrous vampires into the realities of Mexican history is unlike any other horror out there!”

Isabel Cañas is a Mexican American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, Turkey, and New York City, among other places, she has settled in the Pacific Northwest. She holds a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage.

For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk