Canongate Acquires Rights to ANIMALS

Francis Bickmore, Publishing Director at Canongate, and Joanna Dingley have acquired Animals, the new novel from Emma Jane Unsworth. Canongate bought World English Rights from Clare Conville at Conville & Walsh. Canongate will publish Animals in May 2014.

Emma won a Betty Trask Award for her first novel Hungry, the Stars and Everything (Hidden Gem, 2011) and was shortlisted for the Portico Prize in 2012. Her short story 'I Arrive First' was included in The Best British Short Stories 2012 (Salt).

Animals is a refreshingly honest and wickedly funny tale of friendship, love and self-destruction.

Laura and Tyler live together in a squalid flat, setting the world to rights and ruining themselves on an almost nightly basis. But things are set to change. Laura is engaged to teetotal Jim and the wedding is just months away. Now Tyler becomes hell-bent on sabotaging her best friend's plans for a different life.

Bickmore says:

'Unsworth is the most impressive emerging British female voice I've read in years. Animals combines buddy movie and romantic misadventure novel in one, with characters you fall in love with and a voice that is bang on the zeitgeist. It has the brazen honesty ofGirls and Bridesmaids, and the quotable wit of Withnail and I. What more could you rightfully ask of a novel?'

Unsworth says:

'I'm thrilled to be with Canongate - they're a truly exciting publisher, and home to so many authors I love.'

To post a comment, you must register and login.