Del Rey, an imprint of Penguin Random House has acquired BLOODSPORT, a “propulsive, sexy and intoxicating” M/M dystopian romance from Kat Delacorte, following a fiercely contested eight-way UK auction.
Alexa Allen-Batifoulier, Senior Commissioning Editor at Del Rey, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Catherine Cho at Paper Literary. Del Rey will publish in spring 2028 alongside Simon & Schuster in the US, where Executive Editor Emilia Rhodes acquired the novel in a seven-figure deal.
International excitement for BLOODSPORT has already resulted in a major series of deals, including with Droemer Knaur in Germany at auction; at auction in France with Chatterley and Italy with Mondadori; and pre-empts in Brazil with Intrinseca, Poland with Media Rodzina and Spain with Roca. Further rights have sold in Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Denmark and Ukraine.
Pitched as Heated Rivalry meets Formula 1 meets Mad Max, BLOODSPORT is set in dystopian New Monaco, where the elite maintain their power through the Infinity Circuit: a series of gladiatorial supercar races used to broker deals, build dynasties and turn drivers into gods.
Working-class Nicolas has dreamed of racing the Circuit his entire life, but he was born to work on the cars, not drive them. When his extraordinary talent earns him a place at the prestigious Racing Academy, he meets Aleksander, heir to a formidable racing dynasty and a champion moulded from birth. Their fierce rivalry soon becomes an all-consuming attraction—until a devastating betrayal ends Nicolas’s racing career and tears them apart.
Five years later, Aleksander reigns undefeated over the Infinity Circuit while Nicolas works on an oil rig, his former ambitions seemingly behind him. But when a rival team offers Nicolas the chance to return to the track and finally beat the man who destroyed his future, he cannot refuse. As corruption, sabotage and fatalities mount, Nicolas must decide what matters more: taking the victory he has always wanted, or saving the man he has never stopped loving.
Cho said: “I’m so proud to represent the brilliant Kat Delacorte. BLOODSPORT is propulsive and deeply romantic in a way that will inspire fandoms. The response to this was extraordinary, and it’s so well-deserved. I’m delighted that Kat has found a wonderful home with Alexa and Del Rey.”
Allen-Batifoulier said: “From the moment BLOODSPORT landed, it felt like one of those incredibly rare books that takes everything readers are hungry for and combines it into something we simply haven’t seen before. Kat has created an intoxicating collision of obsessive romance, elite sporting rivalry and brutal dystopian spectacle, with the speed and fandom of Drive to Survive running through its veins. Nicolas and Aleksander’s chemistry is extraordinary: every race between them feels like a love scene, and every encounter is charged with years of ambition, betrayal and longing. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Kat to Del Rey and make BLOODSPORT one of our major publishing events for 2028.”
Delacorte said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Alexa and Del Rey UK! I knew from the moment I met Alexa that her vision and enthusiasm for Nicolas and Aleksander’s romance were truly something special, and I’m so grateful to my incredible agent Catherine Cho for finding BLOODSPORT such a perfect home in the UK.”