Tor UK swoops for Liang's historical adult debut
Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of A Song to Drown Rivers plus another untitled novel by Ann Liang. Editorial director Sophie Robinson acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Chris Sheina at Tor US.
A Song to Drown Rivers is a reimagining of the life of Xishi, one of four beautiful women from an ancient Chinese legend, perfect for fans of She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chen and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.
A Song to Drown Rivers is a reimagining of the life of Xishi, one of four beautiful women from an ancient Chinese legend, perfect for fans of She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chen and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.
Liang says: ‘I couldn’t be more thrilled to have found the perfect home for A Song to Drown Rivers in the UK! As both a writer and reader, I’ve long admired the books published by Tor UK, and to have the chance to work with the team—and to see their enthusiasm for a story so close to my heart—is an incredible honour and a dream come true.’
Robinson comments: ‘A Song to Drown Rivers is a sublime historical retelling. Full of Chinese legends and mythology, the novel is hugely ambitious, intimately told, and the doomed love story at its centre left me a broken woman. I can’t wait to publish it next year.’
A Song to Drown Rivers will publish globally on 1st October 2024.
About the author
Ann Liang is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real and If You Could See the Sun. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. When she isn’t writing, she can be found making overambitious to‑do lists, binge-watching dramas, and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.
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.
Reflecting all this, Tor UK was shortlisted for Imprint of the Year at the British Book Trade Awards this year. Bella Pagan, Tor’s Publisher, was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at these awards and received a ‘Highly Commended’ endorsement. Tor UK was also shortlisted for Imprint of the Year in 2022. Pan Macmillan publishes fantastic speculative fiction authors including Jennifer L. Armentrout, Douglas Adams, Olivie Blake, Zen Cho, Genevieve Cogman, Cassandra Clare, Peter F. Hamilton, Lucy Holland, TJ Klune, Freya Marske, Arkady Martine, Naomi Novik, Shelley Parker-Chan, Christopher Paolini, John Scalzi and Adrian Tchaikovsky. (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.