Solaris is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Ten-Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan, a sci-fi novel of corporate greed and resistance with an Indian twist, for publication in Spring 2023.
In a future where the world’s nations have collapsed and Bangalore has been rebranded as Apex City, the elite Virtuals and downtrodden Analogs live on either side of an electric shield that strikes through the city’s centre. Technology is the key to power, so when Analog thief Nāyaka steals a genetically-modified jacaranda bud, and plants it on the Analog side of the city, the tree that blossoms becomes a clarion call for rebellion.
World All Languages Rights, excluding Asia, and French and Italian languages, were acquired by David Moore from Cameron McClure at the Donald Maas Literary Agency.
Author Lavanya Lakshminarayan on the acquisition:
“This is a “pinch me, I must be dreaming” moment! I’ve always admired Rebellion Publishing’s list, and I’m thrilled to have found a place on it, in the company of so many wonderful writers whose work I love and cherish.
The Ten-Percent Thief is my debut novel, and it’s a mosaic woven through the streets of India in the near future. It’s part-satirical, part-hopeful, all cyberpunk and revolution, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.
I’m super grateful to David Moore and Cameron McClure for giving my words a home, and for letting my imaginings thrive unfettered. They’ve travelled with me on journeys into the unknown, and transformed my dreams into the pages of The Ten-Percent Thief. I can’t wait for you to step into this future we’ve built, and I’m excited about the many worlds we’re shaping beyond!”
Acquiring Editor David Moore:
“The Ten Percent Thief is a book for our time, cyberpunk revisited for the 2020s. It’s a scathing satire on social media, on the gig economy, on the inequalities of our society and the lies it tells to preserve them. And it’s fun, too, and often funny. I’m hugely looking forward to working with Lavanya on this.”
Lavanya Lakshminarayan lives between Bangalore and Hyderabad, and grew up in the former. She spent ten years as a game designer, building worlds and crafting narratives for massive successes like FarmVille and Mafia Wars. She’s travelled across the world, but loves coming home to her two dogs and the legion of stray cats she cares for. She can be found on Instagram at @lavanya.ln and Twitter at @lavanya_ln.
For press enquiries please contact Jess Gofton, PR & Marketing Manager: jess.gofton@rebellion.co.uk.