We are delighted to announce Paper Literary’s first deal.
Sarah Underwood’s debut novel, Lies We Sing to the Sea was sold in a ‘major’ pre-empt to Stephanie Stein at HarperTeen. UK rights were sold in a six figure pre-empt to Lindsey Heaven and Sarah Levison at Farshore. Rights have been sold in Italy (Mondadori), France (Casterman), Spain (Anaya), Russia (Mann, Ivanov & Ferber), and Korea (Yibom).
Lies We Sing to the Sea is a sapphic, feminist reimagining of The Odyssey, in which a failed oracle and a vengeful immortal must break the curse on their kingdom by killing its prince.
Underwood said: “I am unbelievably thrilled to be working with Sarah, Lindsey, Stephanie and everyone at Farshore and HarperTeen. Their enthusiasm for Lies We Sing to the Sea blows me away, and to be published alongside so many fantastic authors is such a childhood dream come true. I’ve always loved that Greek mythology is so deeply rooted in oral storytelling. Myths are made to be pulled apart and put back together, and I wanted to continue this tradition by giving voice to Melantho—one of the Odyssey’s 12 slaughtered maids—and sharing the story I always felt she deserved. I’m so grateful to HarperCollins—and, of course, my brilliant agent Catherine Cho at Paper Literary—for giving me the opportunity to do so.”
Levison added: “The Fates were truly on our side the day that Lies We Sing to the Sea sailed into our inboxes. This stunning novel, inspired by The Odyssey, has it all—fantasy, passion, mystery, romance and drama—and is astonishingly accomplished for a young debut writer. Sarah Underwood has an incredible author career ahead of her as one of the biggest names in YA and crossover publishing, and we’re delighted that Electric Monkey can once again be part of this very special story.”
Stein commented: “Sarah’s sapphic, feminist riff on Greek mythology is a YA debut for the ages. She has taken a single forgotten thread from The Odyssey and spun it into a spectacular tapestry of myth, magic, romance and destiny. It absolutely swept me away in its current, and I defy anyone to read it without falling in love (or shedding a tear). I could not be more thrilled to be launching Sarah’s YA career at HarperTeen.”
Underwood recently graduated in computational bioengineering from Imperial College London and will be starting her Masters at the University of Cambridge this autumn.
Lies We Sing to the Sea will be published in Winter 2023.