In a seven-figure, two-book preempt,
Sarah Cantin at St. Martin’s Press bought Bloomsbury UK assistant editor
Jessica George’s debut novel,
Maame. George was represented by
Michelle Brower at Aevitas Creative Management, working on behalf of
Jemima Forrester at U.K.-based David Higham Associates. The book, St. Martin’s said, follows a 20-something British Ghanaian woman in London who is navigating “family conflict, dating, unfulfilling work, roommates who aren’t quite friends, grief, and cultural differences in the wake of a personal tragedy.” The novel was compared, in pitches, to
The Other Black Girl and
Queenie. In the U.K., Hodder & Stoughton won