Penguin pre-empts Lee Newbery’s YA debut for six figures
Penguin Random House Children’s UK has acquired two YA novels by bestselling author Lee Newbery, whose debut middle-grade book, The Last Firefox (Puffin), was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
Fiction publisher Ben Horslen pre-empted world rights including dramatisation from Amber Caraveo at Skylark Literary in a six-figure deal. Death Wish will be published in paperback in January 2027 with a sequel coming in 2028.
Billed as Big Brother meets Squid Game with vampires, Death Wish “will transport readers to a futuristic world where contestants on a brutal reality TV show compete for the ultimate prize: a vampire’s bite, and with it immortality and glory,” the publisher says. “Featuring a steamy gay love triangle, deadly games and the highest of stakes – with a dash of humour – Death Wish will appeal to YA readers hungry for an LGBTQ+ romance with added bite.”
The blurb reads: “In a world where vampires have – with their strength, speed and impossible good looks – become apex celebrities as well as apex predators, 18-year-old Kai is forced to ask himself if he really wants to live forever when he’s invited to take part in the reality TV show, Death Wish. The prize for victory is a vampire bite, and immortality, but winning is only one possible outcome. The other is death – real death, not the glamorous vampire kind.
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“Even so, if there’s the slightest chance that he can save his sick mother, Kai will take the odds – not to mention the fact that he might be falling in love with the irresistibly sexy Max, who is a vampire himself. But with long-simmering tensions between humans and vampires rising to boiling point, the 13th season of Death Wish threatens to be the most shocking and deadly yet.”
Newbery said: “’I’m still pinching myself that Death Wish is being published by Penguin. Working on this book has been the most feverishly addictive writing experience of my career, and I couldn’t be happier that it’s found a home with the brilliant team at PRH, who have championed me so wonderfully over the years. As a lifetime vampire fanatic, I’ve always wanted to write a vampire novel of my own, so when the idea for Death Wish arrived in my head fully formed, I had no choice but to write it. In January, it will finally be in readers’ hands: a dark, high-stakes thriller where immortality is the prize, death is the alternative and falling in love might be the most dangerous thing of all. I can’t imagine a better team to help Death Wish emerge from its coffin as I step into the YA realm.”
Horslen said: “Death Wish’s super-commercial concept is matched perfectly by Lee’s pacy, accessible writing, which makes the leap from middle grade to YA with ease. At Penguin, we are always on the hunt for homegrown talent and could not be more excited to be launching Lee in this thrilling new direction.”
Caraveo added: “Lee’s clever mash-up of reality TV, vampires and high stakes adventure is nothing short of compulsive, and Ben and the PRH team were quick to see the potential. I can’t wait for the world to read Lee’s YA debut. Soon everyone will be asking – do you want to live forever?”
