Gollancz acquires Den Patrick trilogy!

Simon Spanton, Deputy Publishing Director at Gollancz, has acquired world rights in a fantasy trilogy by Den Patrick.

The first novel is called The Boy with the Porcelain Ears and is set in a Pseudo-Renaissance Italy. It follows the fate of Lucien ‘Sinestra’ De Fontein as he attempts to find his place among the nobility. Each book will centre on a different protagonist, telling a story set within (and often around) the sprawling edifice of Demesne.

The first three books are called The Erebus Sequence, with each novel focusing on the Orfano; deformed orphans left on the steps of the Great Houses. Each Orfano will be set against the internecine politicking of the nobles and a deeper corruption, reaching back hundreds of years.

With echoes of Mervyn Peake and Robin Hobb, this is a richly gothic novel from an exciting new voice in the genre.

Juliet Mushens said, ‘I fell in love with the book within the first chapter. Den’s prose is fantastic, the setting is fresh, and I’m confident the books will reach a major fanbase.’

Simon Spanton said, ‘Den is an author with a vivid imagination, a slyly effective way with words and huge enthusiasm, who also has a fantastic grasp of plot, a wonderful sense of setting but, most importantly, an extraordinary and warm understanding of character. Novels are all about establishing empathy between character and reader and Den, first time out, is already a master at this. It’s hugely exciting to be publishing his first novel.’