Tor UK swoops for queer historical fantasy
Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Gentleman and His Vowsmith, plus a second historical fantasy by Rebecca Ide. Editorial director Sophie Robinson acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, including foreign language rights in an exclusive deal from Julie Crisp at the Julie Crisp Literary Agency. Mondadori acquired Italian language rights from Anna Shora, Head of Rights at Pan Macmillan, in a two-book deal for their Oscar Fabula list. North American rights were also sold to Nivia Evans at Saga Press, Simon & Schuster US.
Tor, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of The Gentleman and His Vowsmith, plus a second historical fantasy by Rebecca Ide. Editorial director Sophie Robinson acquired UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, including foreign language rights in an exclusive deal from Julie Crisp at the Julie Crisp Literary Agency. Mondadori acquired Italian language rights from Anna Shora, Head of Rights at Pan Macmillan, in a two-book deal for their Oscar Fabula list. North American rights were also sold to Nivia Evans at Saga Press, Simon & Schuster US.
The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a queer historical fantasy set in Regency-era England. Two aristocratic families – one magical but on the brink of financial ruin, and the other their bitterest rivals – try to negotiate a marriage contract between their respective heirs, only for people from both parties to be murdered during the lock-in at the crumbling manor house. As the body count rises, an old romance is reignited between Lord Monterris, the male heir, and Dashiell, the magical vowsmith hired to negotiate the terms of his marriage.
Sophie Robinson comments: ‘The perfect blend of gothic and romantic, The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is my favourite kind of historical fantasy. It’s devilishly fun with sparkling prose, magic, hot chemistry and a few dead bodies to navigate for good measure. And what a way to reinvent the genre with a smart locked-room mystery at its core. Readers are in for a magical, murderous treat.’
Author Rebecca Ide says: ‘Although I’ve long been a fantasy author, I was brought up on regency romances and murder mysteries such that they live in my blood. Thus, it was sheer joy to be able to bring all my favourite things together under the one roof in The Gentleman and His Vowsmith. My beloved regency turned queer, with magic and murder, humour and heat – I could not be more pleased to be working with Sophie and Tor UK on a project that’s so close to my heart.’
Literary agent Julie Crisp comments: ‘With my love for Georgette Heyer and Susanna Clarke, I fell head over heels for Rebecca’s Regency-inspired locked room gothic mystery romance. I adore Tor UK’s list so was thrilled that Sophie felt the same way and am looking forward to seeing these fabulous characters introduced to the readership.’
Tor UK will publish The Gentleman and His Vowsmith on 24th April 2025 simultaneously with Saga Press US.
About the author
Rebecca Ide is the pen name of Devin Madson – the Aurealis Award-winning author of In Shadows We Fall. Having given up on reality she is now a dual-wielding rogue with a lot of points sunk into stealth and lock picking skills. She lives in Australia with no cats and no neighbours and she doesn't drink coffee.
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. (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.