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Bloomsbury is to publish Sheila Armstrong's debut short story collection How to Gut a Fish, and a first novel, after securing the rights at auction.
Paul Baggaley, editor-in-chief, bought world and audio rights in a two-book deal from Marianne Gunn O’Connor at Marianne Gunn O'Connor Literary Film/TV Agency.
To be published in spring 2022, How to Gut a Fish is described as a "dazzling and disquieting collection of stories" which places the bizarre beside the everyday, and then blurs the lines. The synopsis states: "Villagers, one by one, disappear into a sinkhole beneath a yew tree. A nameless woman is taped, bound and put on display in a countryside market. A man returning home following the death of his mother finds something disturbing among her personal effects."
The novel is yet to be titled, and a publication date is still to be set.
Commenting on the deal, Baggaley said: "I am delighted to be able to bring to readers one of the most exciting new writers I have encountered for a long while. It feels like Sheila’s writing has come fully formed out of nowhere, in these wonderful stories, and the novel promises to be extraordinary. Her voice is unique, exquisitely phrased, often disquieting, and occasionally surreal, and I can’t wait for everyone to discover this major new talent."
Armstrong, a writer and editor, grew up in the west of Ireland and is now based in Dublin. She was nominated for a Hennessy Award, was a runner-up in the Moth Short Story Prize, and has been longlisted for the Short Story of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. Her stories appear in Young Irelanders (New Island), gorse and in Best European Fiction 2019 (Dalkey Archive). She said: “When my agent first let me know that Bloomsbury were interested in me, I walked around my house in a daze, sitting down and then immediately getting up again like I had somewhere really important to be. I still don't have anywhere important to be, and it still hasn't sunk in yet.
"Beside my desk, I have a little greyhound on a track, counting the words I’ve written. Usually he inches forwards, sometimes he leaps backwards, but he keeps going. Neither of us is sure what’s at the finishing line, but I'm so grateful to Marianne for her belief and support, to Bloomsbury for the warm welcome, and, most of all, for the excuse to keep writing.”
O’Connor added: "When I started reading Sheila’s short stories, I fell in love with her wildly original take on modern life and her voice, which engages with the world as it is and with the way we see it, deep in our hearts. I’m super-excited to launch Sheila’s writing career at Bloomsbury with the wonderful Paul Baggaley at the helm; it is the perfect literary home for this new talent."