Tor Bramble buys Queens of Villainy - a new romantasy trilogy from Stephanie Burgis

Tor Publisher, Gillian Green, acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights from Chris Scheina, director for subsidiary rights at Macmillan US. The UK will publish the first novel in the series, Wooing the Witch Queen, simultaneously alongside the US on Tor UK’s Bramble imprint in February 2025, with future books to follow in October 2025 and June 2026.

Described as ‘Travis Baldree meets romantasy’, the Queens of Villainy series is a fresh, funny and irreverent addition to the genre, and follows three magical queens, all determined to hold their own in a gas lamp-lit world where witches and ogres lurk in thick pine forests and court intrigues can turn deadly . . . 

Burgis previously wrote middle-grade fiction, including the international bestseller The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, as well as Indie-published adult fiction. Wooing the Witch Queen is her first adult novel traditionally published in the UK.

Gillian Green says: ‘Stephanie Burgis brings a wonderfully refreshing humour and lightness of touch to the romantasy genre with her brilliant new take on fantasy villains. This is as if Disney’s Maleficent was a fantasy romance with sexy, funny fairy-tale queens finding love when they least expect it. It’s an utter delight!’

Stephanie Burgis says: ‘These books are the most joyful, magical, and romantic adventures I have ever written, and I'm so thrilled to get to share them in the UK!’

About the author
Stephanie Burgis grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, but now lives in Wales with her husband and two children, surrounded by mountains, castles and coffee shops.  She writes wildly romantic adult historical fantasies (including The Harwood Spellbook, over 20,000 self-published copies sold) and children’s books, and has had over forty short stories for adults and teens published in magazines and anthologies.

About Tor UK
Tor UK specializes in speculative fiction and is a destination for the best in imaginative storytelling. A sister company to Tor Books in the US, Tor UK publishes an impressive array of award-winners, bestsellers, household names and talented debut authors. Tor’s mission is to publish out-of-this-world genre fiction and bring readers books that spark joy. It strives every year to increase the diversity of its list, publishing authors from minority backgrounds and increasing positive representation of gender issues through fiction.

Launching in November 2024, Tor Bramble will be the new home for Tor’s romantasy and fantasy romance titles. (www.panmacmillan.com/tor)

About Pan Macmillan
Pan Macmillan is an international consumer book publisher based in the UK, publishing a very broad range of books in all formats, including print, ebook and audio, for today’s readers. Its adult book imprints include Bluebird, Macmillan, Macmillan Business, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Collector’s Library, Mantle, One Boat, Pan, Picador and Tor. Children’s Book imprints include Macmillan Children’s Books, Campbell, Kingfisher and Two Hoots. (www.panmacmillan.com)

Pan Macmillan is part of Macmillan Publishers International Ltd (MPIL), a division of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group (www.holtzbrinck.com), a large family-owned media company based in Stuttgart.