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Hodder Fiction has acquired Felicity Yeoh’s The Twilight Dumpling House, a London Chinatown-set novel blending family drama, food writing and magical realism.

Senior commissioning editor Kit Nevile acquired world all-language rights from Katie Greenstreet at Paper Literary. The novel will publish in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 3rd February 2028.

The synopsis says: “Set in the heart of London’s bustling Chinatown, the novel focuses on the members of the Chong family – husband and wife Tony and Lin and their daughters, Jen and Vivian – and their one-of-a-kind restaurant. Every day, under the twilight haze, their dumplings take on magical properties, the ability to heal and assuage the emotions of their customers: a nostalgic memory, a flash of inspiration…

“But when Tony falls ill and is placed in emergency care, it falls to the sisters to take over the family business. But with their relationship already tested to breaking point, can the magic of The Twilight Dumpling House survive?”

Nevile said: “Frequenting Chinatown as much as I do, always searching for the next amazing bite, that hidden gem, I could not have hoped for a more sumptuous feast of a novel than The Twilight Dumpling House. Felicity has created a stunning world, one on our doorsteps but subtly different, and I cannot wait to share its magic with dumpling lovers – the most universal of comfort foods – the world over.”

Yeoh said: “Writing a novel is a bit like making a thousand dumplings: a fearful undertaking, but achievable with a group of skilled pals. So, I’m unendingly grateful to Kit for his enthusiasm and creativity, to the whole team at Hodder & Stoughton, and to Katie for her magic touch. I can’t wait to invite readers into the hidden world of Chinatown and The Twilight Dumpling House.”

Greenstreet said: “The Twilight Dumpling House is truly a novel to savour, though I know many readers will want to gobble up the delicious world Felicity has created; her perfect blend of magic, flavour and heart is irresistible!”

VERVE Editorial Director Jenna Gordon has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to Alice Rogers’ atmospheric debut Virtue from Kiya Evans at Paper Literary. Described as ‘True Grit by way of Sarah Waters’, Virtue is set in the dying days of the Wild West and transforms beloved Western tropes in a distinctly queer voice. VERVE will publish the novel as a Paperback Original and eBook in May 2027.

A powerful exploration of gender, found family and identity, Virtue introduces the inimitable character of Clementine Hollow, who is forced to escape her family ranch after the violent murder of her brother. Disguised as a boy in her dead brother’s clothes, Clem sets out on the open plains, taking with her the money his killers are chasing. For the first time in her life she’s alone in the world, until she meets seasoned cowboy Connie Glass. Connie takes Clem under his wing and teaches her the skills she needs to survive, travelling through the mining towns of New Mexico and eventually ending up in a small haven called Virtue. 

There, as Connie settles back into old habits, Clem finally finds a sense of belonging – and maybe even a chance at love. But she soon discovers what Connie already knows well: the past isn’t so easy to leave behind and where cowboys go, trouble always follows.

Alice Rogers is a Welsh writer currently living in Scotland. In 2020 she graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First Class degree in Creative Writing. In her free time, she enjoys collecting antiques, watching Seinfeld and walking loops of botanical gardens. 

Rogers says, ‘My debut is a love letter to Westerns – to their settings, their stakes, their tropes, their characters – but subverted, made distinctly queer. From the beginning, Jenna and the team at VERVE have understood exactly what I wanted to do with the genre, and I couldn’t be happier or more excited for Virtue to have found its home with them.’

Gordon adds, ‘Rogers brings a distinct voice to the Western genre, in a story that is preoccupied by what it takes to be a cowboy and the circumstances that might draw a person into that way of life. Virtue heralds the arrival of a remarkable new voice in fiction and sits assuredly alongside novels such as Tipping the Velvet and How Much of These Hills is Gold.’

August Thomas’ Enlightenment-era historical novel POX has been snapped up in a six-figure pre-empt by Doubleday. North American rights were acquired by Carolyn Williams, for publication in Spring 2028.

Set between Constantinople and London, POX is inspired by the timely true story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a daring adventurer and smallpox survivor whose advocacy paved the way for all modern vaccines. While researching the book, August retraced 800 miles of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s journey to Constantinople.

The deal was brokered by Katie Greenstreet at Paper Literary.

Delacorte have acquired fantasy author Sara Jafari’s DESTINED OR DAMNED, a contemporary fantasy romance in which an 18-year-old British Iranian angel enters her final semester of training camp and somehow finds herself navigating a love triangle and investigating mysterious disappearances happening within the prestigious camp’s walls all the while trying to graduate.

World English Language rights were bought by Bris Ragin at Delacorte, by Katie Greenstreet at Paper Literary. The book will be published in Spring 2028.

TV and comedy writer Joanna Bradley’s debut novel, HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR WIFE, pitched as a thriller for fans of ALL FOURS, has sold in a competitive six-figure auction to Helen O’Hare at Little, Brown (NA), by Katie Greenstreet. Rights have also been sold to Ecco Verlag (Germany), by Melissa Pimentel at Paper Literary, and Sonatine (France).

Joanna’s debut follows a recently widowed Brooklynite as she drinks, f**ks, and investigates her way across Paris after learning her wife has not only been found dead, but had been keeping a second apartment, an expensive wine collection, and an entire other identity hidden in the City of Light. She quickly realises that she will have to solve the mystery of her wife’s death if she hopes to uncover the even greater secrets of her life.

Joanna Bradley is a television writer who lives between Manhattan and Los Angeles.

Electric Monkey, the award-winning young adult imprint of Farshore, has acquired a three-book high fantasy YA series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah Underwood. Sarah Levison, Editorial Director at Electric Monkey, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Catherine Cho at Paper Literary, in a significant deal. North American rights were acquired by Kristin Rens at HarperCollins US.

The trilogy combines vibrant and original world-building with every beloved YA trope readers could wish for: reluctant heroes, found family, deadly side quests, first love and a delicious enemies-to-lovers romance — all handled with the warmth and lightness of touch that has made Underwood a standout voice in the YA space. Pitched as The Cruel Prince meets Twin Crowns (with a touch of My Lady Jane!), this new series promises to be a major new chapter in Underwood’s authorial career.

The first book in the series, The Changeling Rule, will publish in May 2027, with the next two books in the series each set to publish a year apart. Set in the kingdom of Ironhold, The Changeling Rule follows two young women whose lives collide at a magical market: fifteen-year-old Claris, heir to a throne ruled by a father who despises magic, and seventeen-year-old Sparrow, a shapeshifting changeling on a desperate mission to free her imprisoned mother from the Ironhold dungeons. When the two strike a daring deal to swap places, both find themselves drawn into something far greater than their own missions – a brewing war between Ironblooded humans and the magical Fair Folk, with the future of all at stake.

Sarah Levison, Editorial Director at Electric Monkey, said: “I am so thrilled to bring more books from the bestselling Sarah Underwood to the Electric Monkey list. Sarah is truly a standout voice in the YA space and watching her pivot her extraordinary talents from standalone novels inspired by Greek mythology to this delightful high fantasy trilogy has been an absolute joy. Sarah has crafted a fantasy world so richly imagined and meticulously constructed that readers will never want to leave it once they enter in Spring 2027!”

Sarah Underwood said “Publishing with Electric Monkey is never anything but a joy and I’m thrilled to be working on three more books – at least! – with them. I’ve been writing The Changeling Rule for more than six years; it has grown from a tiny seed (what if someone really did trade their kingdom for a horse?) into a world full of magic, lies, bargains and secrets, heartless soldiers, pitiless kings, and a pair of protagonists I absolutely adore. After so long in my head, I am so excited to share this world and its inhabitants with readers across the world.”

Sarah Underwood is the author of two critically acclaimed standalone YA novels: Lies We Sing to the Sea, a New York Times bestseller described by The Observer as “a lavish epic of power, vengeance, love and fate” and selected as their YA Book of the Month, and Gentlest of Wild Things, named one of Cosmopolitan’s Best New Books of August 2024. Underwood is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, where she studies healthcare data science.

The Changeling Rule will publish in paperback in the UK in May 2027.

We are thrilled to announce that S.J. Cristea’s debut fantasy rom-com has sold in an significant six-figure pre-empt to Julia Elliott at Avon/HarperCollins and Mikaela Roasa at Harper Canada, and will be published in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph, who won a four-way auction, in deals brokered by Kiya Evans at Paper Literary.

Auctions have concluded internationally in Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Ukraine, with pre-empts in Brazil and France. Rights have sold in ten translation territories thus far, with more in negotiation.

How To Save A Dog From The Underworld follows Jodie, a headstrong necromancer who travels to the Underworld to retrieve her dog’s soul, only to find Zach, the infuriating (but admittedly handsome) God of the Underworld, pet-sitting – and refusing to give the dog back. At a stalemate, they agree to take part in three publicised trials to decide the rightful owner, but as sparks fly and stakes rise, Jodie and Zach must choose—win the dog, or lose their hearts.