Sphere acquires two more thrillers from iconic number one bestseller Val McDermid
Sphere has acquired two new novels from number one Sunday Times bestseller Val McDermid.
Lucy Malagoni, Sphere Fiction publisher, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to two novels from Lizzy Kremer and Jane Gregory at David Higham Associates, with Kremer taking over as McDermid’s agent when Gregory retires at the end of this year.
The first novel in the new deal will be the next instalment in the Karen Pirie series and will be published on 12th October 2023 in hardback, trade paperback and eBook. The first episode of Karen Pirie, a three-part drama starring Lauren Lyle in the title role, airs on ITV from Sunday 25th September.
Lucy Malagoni said: ‘I couldn’t be more delighted to continue working with the inimitable Val McDermid. She is utterly peerless in the crime fiction community, pushing the boundaries with every new book, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for Karen next year.’
Jane Gregory said: ‘After an eventful and wonderful journey of thirty-five years, I am delighted that Val has chosen Lizzy Kremer to represent her in the future. I know that the combination of Lucy Malagoni, the Little, Brown team and Lizzy means that I am leaving Val in very safe hands.’
Lizzy Kremer said: ‘It is an honour for me to represent Val and to get a sense of the dynamic and generous team that surrounds her at Little, Brown. I’ve heard the First Minister of Scotland has a mug on her desk printed with the words “What would Karen Pirie do?” and my focus now the deal is done will be on trying to get one of those for myself.’
Val McDermid said: ‘I’m delighted with this new deal. Having Lucy Malagoni and the rest of the Sphere team at my back fills me with confidence that my books are in the best possible hands. Every writer needs reliable support so we can concentrate on what we’re supposed to be doing. For thirty-five years, that support has included the remarkable Jane Gregory who has shaped my career in so many ways. Her last act has been to orchestrate a seamless handover to Lizzy Kremer. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future, both for Karen Pirie and 1999, the next in the Allie Burns series.’
Val McDermid has sold over 18.5 million copies of her novels to date worldwide, her work has been translated into more than forty languages and adapted for radio, theatre and television. Her contribution has been recognised with awards including the CWA Gold Dagger, the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger, the Grand Prix des Romans D’Aventure, the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award, the LA Times Book of the Year Award and the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction award at the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Harrogate Crime Festival. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, has served as a judge for the Man Booker Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Wellcome Book Prize, holds six Honorary Doctorates and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford.
