A&U acquires two books in new Naïma Brown series
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to two books in a new series by Naïma Brown, in a deal brokered by Pippa Masson at Curtis Brown.
In the first book in The Squad series, The Cruise, Bailey Collins sees that her abuser from her past has applied to be a contestant on the reality show she is a producer for. She casts him, with the contingent of female contestants made up by her “Squad sisters” – members of a global group of women, all survivors of male violence, who have vowed to protect each other at all costs. The Cruise “is the revenge fantasy novel that every woman secretly wishes for: that her closest, most loyal group of female friends would exact revenge on the man who hurt her”, according to A&U.
Brown is the author of the novels The Shot (Macmillan, 2023) and Mother Tongue (Macmillan, 2025) and is the co-author of the nonfiction How to Age Against the Machine (Hardie Grant, 2023). She holds degrees in Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology and Religious Studies and has worked in news, current affairs and documentary. Born and raised in Northern California she now resides in the NSW Northern Rivers.
Said Brown, “pay close attention to what women are thinking – and I know they are wanting accountability and justice alongside sisterhood and solidarity. They also want to be invigorated with a thrilling read. I’ve written The Squad Series to deliver all of these things, and I hope to build a community of readers around these books.”
Publisher Cate Paterson, who acquired Brown’s first two novels before leaving Pan Macmillan, said she was “just thrilled to be in her orbit again”.
Said Paterson, “The Cruise answers a call that we aren’t experiencing in our real lives – for men to stop emotionally and physically injuring, if not killing, women – she’s invented a squad of women who will deliver what is being denied to us. Justice.”
A&U plans to publish The Cruise in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in October and the second book in the series, The Honey Trap, in June 2027.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 1800RESPECT on 0458 737 732, or visit www.1800respect.org.au.
Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions
