Viking signs In Memoriam author Alice Winn’s 'epic, intimate' second novel 

Viking has acquired the second novel by Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam, which won the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, Waterstones Novel of the Year, and was named Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards 2023.

Isabel Wall, executive publisher at Viking, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to Worship from Sophie Lambert at C&W on behalf of Anna Stein at CAA. Diana Miller at Knopf acquired US rights. Rights have also sold in Holland, the Netherlands and are under offer in Hungary, via Claire Nozieres at CAA. UK publication is scheduled for February 2027.

Worship is described as “dazzlingly inventive and endlessly surprising”; a “stunning novel about faith and love in the face of uncertainty – of how far we might go, and what we’re willing to lose, for the ones we love”.

Its blurb reads: “Irish princess Isode is certain she will marry a king worthy of her, and she believes that king might just be Sir Palomides – if only he would convert to Christianity. Her plans, however, are shattered when a mysterious knight named Tristram defeats her beloved in a tournament. Solitary, handsome, and fast becoming the best knight of all, Tristram has no interest in marrying Isode. He only wanted to win approval – worship – from his idol, Palomides, and a seat with the knights of the Round Table. But after the tournament, Tristram and Isode’s fates are tied, whether they like it or not.

“As civil war brews in Camelot, Isode tries to regain control of her once glittering future. Amid turmoil and magic, Tristram and Isode set off on a perilous voyage and begin to see each other in a new light. What if their future holds more than either of them could ever imagine?”

Wall said: “Epic and intimate, witty and profound, wildly romantic and heart-breaking, Worship confirms Alice Winn as a major literary talent. I am in awe of her abilities and excited to share this astonishing new novel with readers.”

Winn said: “I’ve wanted to write this book for over a decade. I couldn’t be happier to be working with Isabel and the team at Viking again, I feel so lucky to have them. I hope people will love this mad, sad, medieval story as much as I do.”