Jessie Burton moves to Phoenix in a two-book deal

Jessie Burton’s next adult novel, ROLE PLAY, and an untitled second novel have been sold to Francesca Main at Phoenix for UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in an exclusive submission by Juliet Mushens. Through this deal, Jessie will reunite with her original editor, who worked with her at Picador on her debut novel THE MINIATURIST, alongside her second and third novels, THE MUSE and THE CONFESSION. THE MINIATURIST, which was the Waterstones Book of the Year in 2014, has sold nearly 600,000 copies to date through NielsenIQ BookScan UK and was made into a 2017 BBC One miniseries.

Phoenix will release ROLE PLAY as a superlead title in July 2027. The novel is described as a riveting exploration of creativity, parenthood, female friendship and the roles women are expected to play in public and private life. ROLE PLAY centres on Kezia and Iris, best friends at drama school who both dreamed of making it big. But while Iris found fame and fortune, single mother Kezia is struggling to make ends meet, living with her son Kit on a boat moored by the Thames.

Then Kezia loses her job, and Kit convinces her to enter a reality TV show for mothers and children with a tantalising prize pot. It could be Kezia’s lucky break. But the producers have their own agenda and the show changes the course of her life – and tests her relationships – in ways she could never have expected.

Publisher, Francesca Main said, "Publishing Jessie Burton’s early novels was both a privilege and a joy – not to mention a career highlight – and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be reunited with her at Phoenix. ROLE PLAY promises to be her most ambitious and astonishing yet, an unforgettable story told with the heart and imagination that have captivated millions of readers around the world. Jessie is one of the most gifted and distinctive novelists of her generation and I’m excited to see her soar to even greater heights over the years to come."

Jessie Burton commented, "A great deal has happened since Francesca read my first manuscript and decided she liked the look of it. Thirteen years on, her taste is clearly more fabulous than ever. Moving to Phoenix marks a wonderful new chapter in my career, the novel of my forties, but it’s also a return to source, a dream come true to be reunited with the editor who believed in me first."

Juliet Mushens added, “ROLE PLAY is at once a provocative look at the roles we are all forced to play by those around us, an incisive take on modern family and also a stone-cold banger of a page-turner."