HQ acquires Laura Foster’s ‘groundbreaking’ debut novel
HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, has acquired The Last Act of Albert Hodge and one other novel from debut author Laura Foster.
Publisher Manpreet Grewal acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Nelle Andrew at Rachel Mills Literary. US rights have sold at auction to Pegasus, German rights to DTV, Italian to Newton Compton and Spanish rights have also sold to Newton Compton Espagna. UTA are handling film and TV rights.
The blurb reads: “At Pear Tree Place, a tranquil retirement community, Albert Hodge, a widower mourning his late wife, just wants to be left alone. However, his world is turned upside down when the mysterious Sylvia Carraway arrives, shattering his daily monotony. Assigned to be her buddy and help her settle in, Albert finds himself reluctantly entangled in a long-buried and decades-old murder mystery, forcing him to become an unexpected investigator and to also confront his own demons.”
Grewal said: “Laura’s novel is groundbreaking in both structure and substance. Its non-linear narrative provides an immersive reading experience, while it tackles difficult subjects with remarkable subtlety. It achieves that rare balance: gritty yet warm, honest yet hopeful, confronting trauma and grief while leaving readers uplifted. It’s exactly the kind of nuanced, comforting reading group novel that feels so necessary right now. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Laura and Nelle on introducing Albert and the residents of Pear Tree Place to readers.”
Foster said: “I’ve been quietly working on this story for years, and at times I wasn’t sure it would ever leave my laptop – so finding a home with HQ feels truly extraordinary. I’m grateful to Nelle for believing in this book from a very early stage, and to Manpreet for welcoming both me and Albert so warmly into the HQ family.”
UK publication of The Last Act of Albert Hodge is scheduled for summer 2027.
