Source :
Times of India
After writing
The Shadow of the Crescent Moon in 2013, longlisted for the
Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, author
Fatima Bhutto is currently working on her second novel titled
The Runaways. And just like her first novel which is set in northern
Pakistan and is published by
Viking, her second book is set between Pakistan, England and Middle East and will be published by Viking.
Bhutto’s
The Runaways ‘is set between Pakistan, England and the Middle East and tells the story of three young people who leave their homes in the UK and Pakistan to join an insurgent movement in Iraq’, reads a report by The Bookseller.
Katy Loftus, Editorial director, acquired the world rights for publication from Karolina Sutton at Curtis Brown. “What most excited me about Fatima Bhutto’s incredible novel is the way she takes you into the world of her characters, and through their eyes, changes your view of it. Sunny, Anita Rose and Monty captured my heart, and I was right there with them, even as they made the most catastrophic decision of their lives.”
“We are living through exciting times, when writing about women’s lives is occupying a central space in contemporary literature, and Anita Rose’s story – a young Pakistani woman whose subjugation by those around her is at the root of her rebellion – makes an important and challenging addition to the discourse. Fatima Bhutto takes her subject matter and imbues it with a beauty and a humanness that is both awe-inspiring and compelling. The team at Viking are hugely excited to be publishing this sensational novel from one of our finest writers,” Loftus said.
Sharing the news about the book’s publishing right being acquired by Viking, Bhutto said, “It was with Viking that I first published fiction and I am thrilled that they will be home to my second novel,
The Runaways.”
Born in Kabul in 1982, Bhutto’s father was assassinated and later she grew up in exile in Syria. Talking about her second novel she said, ” The Runaways is about young people struggling to survive in a world on fire. Writing the novel was a journey of many years, fraught with the politics and anxieties of recent times. It is a story very close to my heart and it is a great happiness to have it in the hands of Katy Loftus and her team at Viking.”
The Runaways is expected to be out in spring 2019.