Century pre-empts Karen M McManus' 'irresistible' debut adult novel
Century fiction publishing director Emily Griffin has pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights to Dying to Be Us, the debut adult novel by bestselling YA author Karen M McManus.
The book was snapped up by Griffin within 48 hours of submission from Kate Shaw at The Shaw Agency on behalf of Rosemary Stimola, Allison Remcheck and Allison Hellegers at Stimola Literary Studio.
North American rights were pre-empted by Jen Monroe at Berkley within 24 hours of submission, and translation rights have sold to Piper (Germany), Editions du Seuil (France), PRH Grupo Editorial (Spain), Record (Brazil) and Ediçoes ASA II (Portugal). UK publication is scheduled for summer 2027.
Dying to Be Us tells the story of a group of former college friends who were stars of a YouTube reality show that ended in tragedy, reunited 12 years later when it is revealed that someone secretly has information that could implicate them in the cold-case murder that has bound them for life.
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McManus is the bestselling author of eight YA novels including One of Us Is Lying (Delacorte Press), which was made into a Netflix TV series. She said: “I’m thrilled that my adult debut has found the perfect UK home with Century. As soon as I met Emily and her team, I was impressed with their deep insight, knowledge and passion for Dying to Be Us. UK readers have always been amazingly supportive of my books, and I can’t wait to work with Century to bring them what I hope will be another up-all-night page turner.”
Griffin said: “I’ve read and loved Karen’s work since One of Us Is Lying and so now to be publishing her adult debut thriller in the UK is a dream come true. And what a book to be launching with. Karen has come up [with] an irresistible premise, a fantastic cast of characters and a flawless plot with twist after jaw-dropping twist. This tale of a group of friends bound together by a horrifying incident in their past will appeal to fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware as much as to Karen’s existing fans. We have hugely ambitious plans for this novel, and for Karen’s career on the Century list, and we can’t wait to get started.”
