Firefinch signs the Stoke Rising series from crime writer Kate London

Firefinch has clinched a new crime fiction series from former detective and novelist, Kate London. 

Managing director Kate Parkin and executive director Margaret Stead secured UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and including audio from Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown.

Black Earth, the first book in the Stoke Rising series, will be published in July 2026.

"I feel that Kate has found the perfect home for the resonant and thrilling Black Earth with this dynamic and exciting new publishing venture, Firefinch," said Lutyens.

Set agianst the 1984 miners’ strikes, Black Earth follows a divided family as one brother sits on the front lines of the strike in Silvertown and the other serves as a police officer. The series will span three decades and encompass the rise of New Labour in the early 2000s.

London said: "I am very excited that my new series has found a home with Firefinch. These stories are set in my home town and are very close to my heart. Margaret Stead was my first editor, and I know that together we can tell powerful stories."

Stead added: "Kate is one of the most creative and collaborative authors I’ve ever worked with. These new novels are very close to her heart as she was raised in Stoke. As a former detective she knows the world of policing first hand. She’s also a writer of dazzling range and true humanity."