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HarperCollins Publishers has scooped the debut novel by "Jurassic Park" and "Mission: Impossible" screenwriter David Koepp for a reported seven figures.
The company bagged world rights to Koepp’s thriller Cold Storage, about national security expert Roberto Diaz who helps contain a deadly, contagious organism to a secure government facility. Thirty-two years later, he must help two unwitting storage unit security guards quarantine it yet again before its gruesome effects become irreversible, according to the blurb.
HarperCollins struck a deal for two books from Koepp, negotiated by Zachary Wagman, executive editor at Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, with Creative Arts Agency on behalf of Koepp. HQ will publish it in the UK and Commonwealth excluding Canada and it will also be released in Brazil, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, and in the Spanish language in Spain and the Americas by HarperCollins.
Koepp is the celebrated screenwriter behind high-grossing films such as "Jurassic Park", "Mission: Impossible", "Spider-man" and "Panic Room".
The film rights to Cold Storage have already been acquired by Paramount Pictures, with Koepp and Gavin Polone set to produce and Koepp also down to write the screenplay.
The debut is set for release in 2019, although a more precise release date has not yet been confirmed. Variety has reported that the deal was in the seven-figure range.
Dominic Wakeford, senior commissioning editor for HQ, said: “Having grown up watching and loving the movies David Koepp has written, my expectations for Cold Storage were already high, but nothing prepared me for the experience of reading his debut novel. Breathlessly paced, inventively told and featuring a fantastic cast of characters, it is an unmissable, unforgettable read that we are thrilled to be publishing at HQ.”
Lisa Milton, executive publisher for HQ, added: “I’ve always been drawn to big, epic thrillers and this is one of the best I’ve read in years. I couldn’t be happier to be welcoming David to the HQ list.”