Black & White pre-empts Amelia Ireland's debut novel for six-figure sum
Black & White, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has pre-empted Amelia Ireland’s debut novel, The Seven O’Clock Club.
Sam Humphreys, publishing director at Black & White, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada), from Emily Glenister, for six figures. Black & White will publish on 3rd April 2025, with Berkley Books in the US publishing on 15th April 2025.
In the novel, four strangers meet for the first time at seven o’clock one Tuesday evening, in a tower block near Westminster. They each share two things in common: a traumatic experience six months earlier and an inability to put it behind them. Reluctantly, they have been brought together to participate in an experimental treatment designed to heal broken hearts.
When a revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it shakes the foundation of everything they thought they knew, and what began as a healing journey turns out to be a much greater test of friendship, strength and love.
Ireland wrote the novel in memory of her mother, who died shortly after being diagnosed with early onset dementia.
Ireland said: “I’ve always been a bit of a day dreamer, with most of that time spent imagining lives worlds apart from my own. That, coupled with my mum’s passing a few years ago, led to me coming up with the idea for this book. I never in my wildest (day)dreams however thought I would land an amazing agent and a publishing deal all in the space of six months and to now be working with Sam at Black & White is an absolute dream come true. I’ve loved the faith she has had in both me and the book since the start and I can’t wait to see The Seven O’Clock Club in print.”
Humphreys said: “I’ve been looking for a really heartfelt, heart-breaking yet life-affirming read ever since starting at Bonnier, and when Emily first sent me The Seven O’Clock Club, it set my spidey senses tingling. I started to read — and to say I was blown away is an understatement. For me, the best novels have emotion and tension, and Amelia’s debut has both in spades. I’m absolutely thrilled to be publishing it on the Black & White list, and can see it appealing to readers of everything from Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes to Rosie Walsh’s The Man Who Didn’t Call and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library. At the same time, it’s entirely original and I can’t wait to share it with the world.”
The Seven O’Clock Club will be published in the UK and Ireland, in hardback, audio and e-book on 3rd April 2025. It will be published in the US by Berkley Books on 15th April 2025.