The Borough Press has acquired the third crime novel from Susie Steiner for a “significant six-figure” sum.
The HarperCollins imprint’s publishing director, Suzie Dooré, bought the UK and Commonwealth rights from Sarah Ballard at United Agents. Random House will publish in the US.
The as-yet-untitled book will feature Manon Bradshaw, protagonist of the author’s previous titles Missing, Presumed and Persons Unknown.
HarperCollins ran an on- and offline marketing campaign for novel Missing, Presumed “mirroring a real-time police search in a high-profile missing person’s case” when it was published in February last year. It is shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of The Year, which will be announced on 20th July at the Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
Steiner was commissioning editor at The Guardian for 11 years, and her first novel, Homecoming, was published by Faber in 2013. Borough first signed with the author following a six-figure auction win in October 2014.
Dooré said: “Susie Steiner is one of the stars of Borough’s list and the huge success of Missing, Presumed last year is testament to her incredible talent. Persons Unknown is, in my opinion, even better, so I can’t wait to see where she sends Manon next. Susie is a joy to publish.”
Steiner said: “I love working with Suzie Dooré, the Borough crew and the wider HarperCollins team. The combination of sensitive editorial work with creative marketing is perfect for hitting the sweet spot.”
Ballard described Borough’s publication of Missing, Presumed as one of the “highlights” of her professional life. She added: “I’m utterly delighted we’ll be setting sail for a third time with Manon.”
Steiner has sold 203,083 books amounting to £1.03m in total. She sold 188,142 copies amassing £920k from Missing, Presumed, according to Nielsen BookScan UK.
