By Georgie Cutler, Eva Lee, Niamh Parr and Emily Retford
Acquisition News
Del Rey to Publish Collaborative Novel by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville
Del Rey UK, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK dedicated to science fiction and fantasy, has announced the forthcoming publication of a collaborative book between actor Keanu Reeves and author China Miéville. The novel – The Book of Elsewhere – will mark Reeves’ debut novel, but will be set in the same fantasy world already brought to life by Reeves in his BRZRKR comic series. BRZRKR follows the half-mortal and half-God Berzerker as he fights to discover the truth behind his cursed immortality and how to put an end to it. Created by Reeves, writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney, it was first published in 2021 by BOOM! Studios as a twelve-issue graphic novel.
UK and Commonwealth rights were bought by Ben Brusey, Publishing Director at Del Rey UK, from Matilda Forbes-Watson at WME. Of the novel, Brusey has said that “The Book of Elsewhere is science fiction at its very best – dazzling high-concept, beguiling characters and a profound, original plot that blends action, drama and existentialism in a bravura way that will leave readers moved and amazed” (The Guardian). North American rights were bought by Ben Greenberg, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Random House, from Laura Bonner and Erin Malone at WME; Greenberg will also edit the novel. The Book of Elsewhere is set to be published on July 23 2024 in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats.
Headline Lands Hans Holbein Novel by Wendy Holden
Headline imprint Mountain Leopard Press is set to publish The Queen’s Painter by Wendy Holden. The novel will offer a new angle to the Tudor Court, following Holbein’s relationship with Anne Boleyn, who was at the time his patron and wife to Henry VIII. Looking at the motivations behind Holbein’s iconic artwork, The Queen’s Painter proposes an entirely new theory to history – that the artist used his art as vengeance against those who put Anne to death. According to Holden, her novel looks at everyone’s favourite part of history that mixes passion, retribution and drama. Describing the time spent researching and making connections between obscure clues in pieces of artwork as “the time of her life,” Wendy is considered a fountain of knowledge about the goings-on in the famous Tudor Court (The Bookseller). Mountain Leopard’s Fiction Publishing Director Jennifer Doyle bought the UK and Commonwealth rights to The Queen’s Painter from Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown. The novel is set to be published in early 2026.
From book to screen
What to watch?
It Ends with Us Adaptation
The bestselling 2016 novel It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is set for a film adaptation of the same name, coming soon to Netflix. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will take on the lead roles in this upcoming romance film. The storyline follows Lily, a girl from a small town in Maine where she grew up, as she graduates from college and moves to Boston. She meets a neurosurgeon named Ryle and everything changes as they grow a loving relationship. All is too good to be true when her first love shows up in her life again which questions her life and decisions. Catch the movie out on 9 February 2024.
In the Works
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Coming To Screens
Ottessa Moshfegh’s bestselling novel is currently in the process of being adapted for the big screen. Set in the early noughties in New York, the novel revolves around an unnamed wealthy protagonist who plans to hibernate for a year to avoid the worst of the world with the help of a cocktail of drugs. She’s helped in this endeavour by her atrocious psychiatrist and is interrupted regularly by her friend Reva. The rights for My Year of Rest and Relaxation were bought in 2019 by LuckyChap Entertainment, Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley’s production company. Yorgos Lanthimos is currently adapting the script with Ottessa Moshfegh. She also adapted her ManBooker shortlisted novel (Eileen) last year, featuring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie. There are rumours surrounding Emma Stone’s potential connection to the project. She has previously worked with Lanthimos on The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023). However, she declined to answer whether she was attached to the project when Dazed asked her. Details of the project have been kept under wraps, however, as soon as we know more we’ll update you on the release date.