News

« Headlines

Orion signs Début Dagger winner

03.08.07 Alison Flood

Alan Bradley, winner of the Début Dagger, has signed a three-book deal with Orion for a crime series centring on 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. Editorial director Bill Massey, a judge for the award, won a small auction to buy UK and Commonwealth rights exc Canada in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and two other titles from Bill Hamilton on behalf of Denise Bukowski.

Bradley, who is Canadian, won the Dagger for his 1950s-set novel based on a chapter and a synopsis. “It was just a chapter, but it was so outstanding that it made me realise he is a real talent, and that he had an idea that could be a really terrific series,” said Massey, who will publish in spring 2009. “Flavia is a precocious 11-year-old who when she is not plotting to poison her elder sisters in the basement is solving peculiar crimes.”

Rights deal Orion Bill Massey

See Also