HQ signs 'breathtaking' VITA AND THE BIRDS from Polly Crosby in two-book deal

HQ has netted two novels from Polly Crosby, author of The Illustrated Child and The Unravelling (HQ). 

Cicely Aspinall, senior commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to Vita and the Birds and a second novel, from Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment.  

Vita and the Birds will publish in May 2023. It tells the story of Eve, a young woman revisiting the coastal Suffolk town of her childhood summers, and Vita, a woman whose status and controlling brother force her to keep her new friendship with local artist Dodie a secret. A towering glass building known by locals as the Cathedral of the Marshes dominates the landscape, and the two women’s lives, which are connected through the decades. Eve broke into the dilapidated cathedral one night as a teenager and what she saw has haunted her ever since. Only now, years later, does she come to understand how she and her family are linked to that night, and to Vita’s story, in a beautiful and terrible way. 

Crosby said: “I have loved every minute of working with Cicely and the HQ team, and I am especially happy that they enjoyed reading Vita and the Birds as much as I enjoyed writing it. I can’t wait to continue with such a brilliant relationship.” 

Aspinall added: “I am delighted to have acquired two more novels from Polly. She writes beautiful, emotional stories and I am in complete awe of her imagination. Vita and the Birds is a breathtaking dual-timeline novel with a compelling mystery at its heart that will enthral and delight readers. I can’t wait to share it with them!” 

Mushens also commented: “Polly’s writing is hypnotic—I’m so excited to have a new deal with HQ and to continue to see her books reach more readers.”