The first novel by Dr Francesca Haig, Senior Lecturer in Creative
Writing, will be published around the world after a series of hotly-contested
auctions between publishers. The Fire Sermon, a post-apocalyptic novel
with elements of fantasy and science fiction, is being published in the UK by
HarperVoyager in spring 2015, with two sequels to follow. The film rights to
the novel have been purchased by DreamWorks Studio, and Simon & Schuster will
be publishing the series in the US and Canada. Translation rights to the series
have also been sold in many countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy,
the Netherlands, Brazil, Israel, Turkey, Taiwan, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Russia,
Bulgaria, and Slovakia.
Writing a novel was a departure for Francesca, who has previously
published mainly poetry (her first collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in Australia in 2006). Francesca
said: ‘It’s particularly exciting now to look forward to the novel reaching
readers, after having worked on it for years with no idea whether it would ever
amount to anything.’
All the lecturers on the Creative Writing programme are published
authors, and are able to advise students not only on the craft of writing, but
also on the practical aspects of getting their work published. Francesca’s
agent, Juliet Mushens of The Agency Group, will be coming to the department
this year to speak to Creative Writing students about how to secure an agent
and publish their work. Francesca said: ‘Juliet is brilliant, and played an
essential role in securing the publication of The Fire Sermon. I can’t wait to introduce her to our students, and
I know how much they value these industry contacts and practical insights into
the process of getting their creative work out there.’
You can read more about Francesca’s UK book deal here:
And about the film deal here:
