Hot Key Books, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, is delighted to announce the acquisition of two razor-sharp books from M.A. Bennett. Scavengers, the first in the duology, is a high-concept YA dark academia thriller featuring a secret society, impossible thefts and a million-and-one pound prize.
Emma Matthewson, executive publisher at Hot Key Books, acquired world all language rights to two books from Teresa Chris at Teresa Chris Literary Agency Ltd.
Scavengers follows working-class Trinity Pascoe who, after being humiliated by wealthy student Wolfie Chatto, becomes determined to beat the rich kids at their own game: a summer-long hunt for hidden treasures run by a secret society known as the Scavengers. Trinity enters the competition in pursuit of the million-and-one pound prize, teaming up with hacker Sawyer, best friend Gun and ambitious scientist Amira, each driven by their own urgent reasons for needing the money. The summer-long challenge takes Trinity through the aristocratic London Season, to stately homes, sporting events and even royal palaces in search of objects money just can’t buy. But as the challenges grow more dangerous and the stakes rise, Trinity must decide how far she’s willing to go to beat Wolfie, the high-society boy she hates – or does she?
M. A. Bennett says: “I’m delighted to be returning to Hot Key Books for my new YA thriller Scavengers. All of my STAGS novels were published by Hot Key, and I’ll be reuniting with the best editor in the business, Emma Matthewson, who edited the whole of that series. So for me it’s like coming home!”
Emma Matthewson, executive publisher at Hot Key Books, said: “It is such a treat to be working with Marina (M. A. Bennett) again. Her storytelling is always magnificent, drawing on society and class issues alongside compulsive plotting in the dark academia space with, for Scavengers, some intriguing high society heist elements added in. I cannot wait to publish. . .”
M.A. Bennett (Marina) is half Venetian and was raised in the Yorkshire Dales in the grounds of the Elizabethan stately home where her grandmother was the housekeeper. She attended a state school then won a British Academy Scholarship to the University of Oxford, going on to take a master’s degree at the University of Venice. On graduation she designed graphics for movies and tour visuals for bands, before becoming a writer of middle grade and YA. She is the author of the YA series, STAGS, which has been optioned for film, shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, and won the Warwickshire Secondary and Gold in the Sussex Coast Schools Amazing Book awards. Marina is also a reading mentor at state and independent schools. She lives in London with her husband, son and daughter.
Scavengers will publish in paperback in June 2027, followed by book 2 in 2028.
