Hot Key Books acquires Arthurian inspired horror from Rachel Burge

Hot Key Books, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired Waking the Witch by Rachel Burge.

World rights were secured by Maurice Lyon, senior commissioning editor at Hot Key Books, from Amber Caraveo at Skylark Literary Agency.

Waking the Witch is an atmospheric and thrilling contemporary YA novel infused with magic and horror, based on the real-world folklore of Bardsey Island (a tiny windswept place off the west coast of Wales, believed to be the real location of Avalon). The novel offers a feminist view of Arthurian legend, bringing to life lesser known stories and well-loved characters as they’ve never been seen before.

Georgia Murray, commissioning editor at Hot Key Books, who will be editing Rachel Burge going forward, said: “We’re delighted to be publishing Rachel’s new novel on the Hot Key list– a stand-out, fierce story of female empowerment and womanhood, set against the most thrilling and magical backdrop of Arthurian myth and legend.”

Rachel commented on the acquisition: “This will be my third book published with Hot Key, and I feel incredibly lucky to be working with such an enthusiastic and talented publishing team. Waking the Witch has been a joy to write and I can’t wait for readers to meet Ivy and Tom, along with some of my favourite characters from Arthurian legend.”

Rachel Burge is the author of the YA novels The Twisted Tree and The Crooked Mask. She lives in East Sussex with her partner, son, and black Labrador Biff.

Waking the Witch will publish digitally first; as an eBook on 9^th June 2022, followed by paperback on 18^th August 2022.