Fantasy debut by Hannah Kaner swiftly pre-empted by HarperVoyager
Natasha Bardon, Publishing Director of HarperVoyager, has acquired UK/COMM (excl Canada) rights in Hannah Kaner’s debut epic fantasy trilogy, starting with GODKILLER. The rights were secured in a swift pre-empt via Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment, to be published in hardback in March 2023. Russian rights have been acquired by Mann, Ivanov and Ferber.
GODKILLER follows Kissen, whose family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is, until she finds a god she cannot kill. Forced to travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to beg a favour, she is accompanied by three unlikely heroes: a young noble, a god of white lies, and the former Knight Commander. Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of Blenraden, and only they can be the ones to stop it.
Hannah is a Northumbrian writer living in Scotland. She works as a senior digital consultant in Edinburgh, delivering digital health care, tools and services for the public sector. She has a first class degree in English from Pembroke College, Cambridge, and a Masters of Science with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. She is inspired by world mythologies, angry women, speculative fiction, and the stories we tell ourselves about being human.
Hannah Kaner said, ‘I'm thrilled to be working with Harper Voyager and their brilliant people on Godkiller. It's been a long held dream, and I'm chuffed to be walking in the footsteps of their other amazing writers and guided by an excellent team.'
Juliet Mushens said, ‘GODKILLER is totally irresistible, with some of my favourite tropes: gruff battle-hardened warrior with a heart of gold, precocious young girl with a secret, and extremely cool magic. I can’t wait for Voyager to launch Hannah’s career.’
Natasha Bardon said, ‘I was so excited when I first read Hannah’s fast-paced fantasy filled with gods, monsters and characters to fall in love with. It’s a fantastic whirlwind that fans of The Witcher will love and I cannot wait for Voyager to publish it.’