HarperCollins acquires new Rogers novel
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to The Clue Keeper, a new novel by Megan Rogers, in a deal brokered by Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Agency.
The Clue Keeper follows Ginnie Brown, a young woman in a male-dominated world who “sees puzzles where others see problems, patterns where others see chaos.” Forced to leave university by a family crisis, she takes a secretarial position at the New York Times, “where she finds herself – underestimated, invisible – at the centre of a quiet revolution, one built not on protest or politics, but on the grid of a crossword puzzle.”
The novel is set in 1970s New York amid the women liberation movement’s fight for equality. It is a novel about “the hidden language of resilience, the quiet rebellion of intellect, and the way the right words – placed in just the right order – can change everything.”
Publisher Catherine Milne said, “Megan Rogers is a born storyteller. After publishing her bestselling debut, The Heart is a Star, I was so curious to see what she would come up with next. When she came to me with this enthralling idea for a novel inspired by the lives of women who shaped the modern crossword, set against the gritty energy of Manhattan in the 1970s, I was hugely excited and just said, YES, YES, YES.
“I know readers everywhere are going to love this novel and will cheer for Ginnie as she proves herself and finds her place in the world. Megan is such an instinctive, natural storytelling talent, and I’m so happy to be continuing to publish her at HarperCollins.”
Rogers said, “I’m so excited to continue my publishing journey with HarperCollins Australia and the talented Catherine Milne. The Clue Keeper grew out of my fascination with the women who helped build the world of crosswords and whose intelligence shaped how we think about language, pattern and meaning. Writing Ginnie’s story was a way to honour these women, to voice their untold stories and to celebrate the power of words.”
With a PhD in Creative Writing from RMIT University, Rogers has taught in its master and bachelor writing programs. She has been awarded Monash University’s Vice-Chancellor Award for Scholarship and was mentored by author Drusilla Modjeska. She specialises in promoting the arts and worked as marketing manager for the State Library of Victoria. Her first novel, The Heart is a Star, was published by HarperCollins in May 2023.
The Clue Keeper is scheduled for release in September 2027.
Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions
