Picador to publish Emily St John Mandel's new 'mind-bending epic'

Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, is set to publish Emily St John Mandel’s new "mind-bending epic" novel.

Picador publishing director, Sophie Jonathan, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights in print, e-book and audiobook to Exit Party from Anna Webber at AM Heath on behalf of Katherine Fausset at Curtis Brown US.

Exit Party is set in 2031, where America is at war with itself, but the Republic of California has been signed into existence and in Los Angeles the curfew has been lifted and "tonight everyone is going to a party".

The synopsis continues: "Ari, recently out of prison, and her friend Gloria find themselves amid these celebrations as a new age dawns. But there are people at this particular party who shouldn’t be here. Something is very wrong.

"Moving from a war-torn and chaotic America to Paris in an era of tenuous stability, Ari lives a series of different lives, and yet that party all those years ago is something she can never forget. Something strange happened there – something that might give Ari a window into a different life, and a very different version of the world."

The publisher added that the book explores "themes of freedom, chaos and surveillance, art and the relationships we form in a broken world", and is an epic: "a story of crimes committed and loves lost across space and time".

Jonathan said: "Exit Party is brilliant. It has all of the power and energy of Emily’s previous books, but here we can see sharpened political and emotional teeth. It is pacy and unputdownable – a novel of constant intrigue, but also witty and philosophical: holding up a mirror to our world by creating vivid and startling alternative realities. I am thrilled to be publishing Emily St John Mandel’s latest masterpiece, which is poised to be her biggest and most impactful book yet."