21-year-old young adult author gets 7-figure book deal

NEW YORK — A 21-year-old author has agreed to a seven-figure deal for a pair of young adult novels.

Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, announced Thursday that it would publish Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s highly anticipated debut, the thriller “Ace of Spades,” in June 2021. The author also plans a second novel, currently untitled.

Feiwel and Friends is calling “Ace of Spades” a combination of “Gossip Girl” and “Get Out,” the story of two Black students at an overwhelmingly white private school and how they get caught up in a “disturbing and deadly game.”

“I hope readers in the U.S. see that Black people belong in stories like ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ and that above everything else we deserve happy endings,” Àbíké-Íyímídé, a London resident currently attending college in Scotland, said in a statement.

Feiwel acquired North American rights to the two books. Usborne will release Àbíké-Íyímídé’s work in the United Kingdom.

The Associated Press