Walker Books Group has acquired high-stakes, historical YA fantasy The Game of Oaths by exciting new voice in YA, S.C. Bandreddi. World all language rights were acquired by Commissioning Editor Emily McDonnell from Catherine Cho at Paper Literary.
In a global release, Walker Books UK and Candlewick Press in the US will publish simultaneously in May 2026 with a spectacular joined-up marketing and PR campaign.
The book is set in a fantastical Belle Époque Paris, where Falan Sunkara is a trapeze artist for Paris’s famous magical circus, Le Cirque des Ombres. Le Cirque is ruled by Jean-Pierre, ringmaster and enchanteur and one of the few magicians in the city legally allowed to use magic for entertainment. But the glamour of the circus is just another illusion. Each year, twelve members must compete in the Game of Oaths, a brutal tournament of deadly games watched by the city’s elite. Only one will survive. Last year, Falan’s sister was one of the unlucky eleven. This year, Falan is out for revenge.
This novel is a thrilling exploration of power – those born into it and those who must grasp it for themselves – but is ultimately about found family and love.
S.C. Bandreddi said: “I’m so thrilled to be working with the teams at Walker Books and Candlewick Press; from our first meeting, Emily and Lindsay have shown endless enthusiasm for The Game of Oaths, coupled with an insightful editorial vision that I knew would bring this story to its highest potential. I’m incredibly grateful to them, as well as to my fantastic agent, Catherine Cho at Paper Literary, for believing in this dark, vengeful tale and in me.”
Emily McDonnell, Fiction Commissioning Editor added: “S. C. Bandreddi is a standout new talent in YA fiction, and I couldn’t be happier to be bringing The Game of Oaths to the Walker list. Soumya has taken familiar elements that we all love, such as a circus setting and Battle Royale-esque contest, but has put her own spin on these by transporting us to a world where racial inequality and power imbalances have been made even more extreme by the laws around magic. I was enthralled by the picture she paints of Belle Époque Paris, where beauty and brutality go hand in hand. The strength of the plotting means this book keeps you in its grip right until the very end, and readers won’t be able to look away from Falan’s quest for revenge.”
Lindsay Warren, Assistant Editor at Candlewick Press says: “With twists and turns, beauty and ferocity, The Game of Oaths pulled me in from my very first read, and I’m thrilled to be able to publish this in the US alongside Walker UK. This is a wonderfully high-concept story, yet there are so many layers to Falan and her quest for revenge and freedom – not just survival – in a city filled with the spoils of colonial empire. It’s been an absolute joy to work with Soumya on this book, and I can’t wait for readers to experience the spectacle for themselves.”
S. C. Bandreddi is a writer who hails from Northern California, where she grew up scribbling stories deep into the night and hasn’t stopped since. When she’s not writing, she’s usually puzzling, gaming or at an arcade trying to win as many plushies as she can. The Game of Oaths is her debut novel.