GOLLANCZ PRE-EMPT FOR DEBUT FANTASY

Gollancz has snapped up a hotly tipped debut fantasy novel.

The novel, tentatively titled Dreamstuff, is part of a two-book pre-empt deal by Gollancz Deputy Publishing Director Simon Spanton from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein acting on behalf of Peter McGuigan at Foundry in the USA. Both books were also pre-empted by Diana Gill at HarperCollins in the US.

Written by debut author C. Robert Cargill, Dreamstuff is a contemporary fantasy that follows the trials and tribulations of two boys, Ewan and Colby, who are drawn into a vividly rendered Faerie realm. This is Faerie both ancient and unfathomable as well as modern and very much in your face. Cargill’s deep knowledge of the denizens of Faerie is allied to a wonderful ability to make them live and breathe for a modern audience. This is a book as wonderful as it is terrifying. It manages to be both dreamlike and visceral.

Cargill has written for Ain’t it Cool News for nearly 10 years under the pseudonym Massawyrm, as well as serving as a staff writer for Film.com and Hollywood.com. He appears as the animated character Carlyle on spill.com, where he also hosts a featured podcast. His first screenplay ‘Sinister’ is currently in production in New York City, co-written and directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke.

Robert said: “It is a great and humbling honor to have my Dreamstuff books picked up by a publisher with such a long and storied history as Gollancz. My geek heart is aflutter at the opportunity at being a part of that history.”

Simon Spanton said: “From the opening scenes describing a baby being swapped for a Changeling to stunningly written supernatural set pieces as powerful as anything I’ve read via lines that made me literally shudder with horror even as I was filled with admiration for how they were written this was a book that I knew almost immediately that I desperately wanted to publish. It’s that rare thing, a fantasy like nothing I’ve read that will, I’m sure, appeal to the widest possible readership. I think C. Robert Cargill is going to be a star and I’m utterly delighted that it’s going to be Gollancz helping him to that in our territories.”

Dreamstuff will be published in early 2013 by Gollancz.