Book Eaters live among us: a secret community of people for whom books are food. As they nourish themselves with pages and bindings and gilded edges, they also consume the information inside…
We’re thrilled to announce The Book Eaters , the debut novel from Sunyi Dean—publishing with Tor Books in Winter 2022.
Senior Editor Lindsey Hall recently acquired North American rights for Sunyi Dean’s The Book Eaters in a pre-empt for publication in Winter 2022 via Naomi Davis of BookEnds. Harper Voyager UK acquired UK and Commonwealth rights at auction.
Book Eaters live among us: a secret community of people for whom books are food. As they nourish themselves with pages and bindings and gilded edges, they also consume the information inside. And what is consumed cannot be forgotten.
At the old Fairweather manor, tucked away in the English moors, young Devon was raised on a diet of fairytales and dark warnings about what happens to those who disobey the Family, one of the oldest lineages of Book Eaters. As she enters adulthood, she is prepared for the life she’s been groomed for, one of wealth, arranged marriages, and forced childbearing.
But when her son is born a rare Mind Eater—a child who must feed on human minds rather than books—instead of letting the Family make a monster out of him, Devon will become the monster herself in order to protect him. And she will burn down anyone who stands in her way.
From author Sunyi Dean:
In The Book Eaters, I wanted to craft a novel about imperfect motherhood, impossible choices, and other really difficult topics–but with the sideways slant that fantasy can offer. Tor and Harper Voyager publish some of my favorite authors, such as Gene Wolfe, Robin Hobb, Ada Palmer, and Jo Walton, and their fascinating stories have given me so much delight through the years. I am honored to now be working with Lindsey, Vicky, and their amazing teams, and I’m excited by their vision for The Book Eaters.
From Lindsey Hall, Senior Editor at Tor Books:
I was instantly sucked into Sunyi’s world. Book Eaters literally devour books, and my reader heart was delighted by and envious of this in equal measure! If you need to know train stops or a driving route, eat a map. You can feed your love pages of poetry as foreplay, and enjoy mass market thrillers as a light snack. All of this bookish enchantment is layered on top of one of the most compelling and complex stories of family, sacrifice, and betrayal I’ve ever read. I cannot wait to share The Book Eaters with you.
From Devi Pillai, Publisher:
Read the first chapter of The Book Eaters, and I swear you will be hooked (and may never be able to look at children the same way again! ha) In all seriousness though, The Book Eaters is a gripping story of motherhood, of womanhood, of the dangers of believing in fairytales, and it asks the question, what kind of monster are you willing to become to protect your children? I’m very excited we have the opportunity to publish this incredible debut and to work with Sunyi on this and more fantastic books to come.
Sunyi Dean is a biracial immigrant and autistic single mom, living the inner-city life in North England. Her short stories have featured in places like The Best of British Scifi 2018 Anthology, Prole, FFO, and BBC Radio Leeds (among others). When not reading, running, falling over in yoga, or rolling d20s, she sometimes escapes the city to wildswim in lonely dales.
