HarperFiction UK and St Martin’s Press in the US have acquired the perfect debut for anyone who works in the publishing industry. Entitled Bad Words it is set in the world of publishing and follows the fall-out from a poisonous review.
The synopsis says: “Parker Navarro’s debut was snapped up in a million-dollar deal and pegged to be the book of the year – until notorious City Magazine critic Selina Chan tore it apart, turning it into the decade’s biggest flop. Now, four years later, Parker’s second novel is about to drop, and he’s desperate for redemption. But when Selina’s brutal new review goes viral, history repeats itself and then a fiery, very public blowout between them at a publishing party turns them into instant enemies of the literary world.”
The book is the debut adult novel of the young American writer and musician Rioghnach Robinson, who has previously published four YA novels. She is of half-Irish and half-Chinese descent, and has also written plays, played keyboards with funk bands, cut an album and directed choirs.
Assistant editor Olivia Robertshaw acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Imogen Bovill of Abner Stein (on behalf of Clare Mao at Sanford J Greenburger Associates) in a 10-way auction, and the book will be published in autumn 2026.
North American rights were acquired by Vicki Lame at St Martin’s Press for seven figures, with further translation rights in multiple international territories now sold or under offer.
The blurb concludes: “As their feud plays out through snarky interviews and tense convention run-ins, their jabs about writing, criticism and who gets to lead an artist’s life start to give way to the realisation they might be more like-minded than they thought.”
Robertshaw said: “From the moment I started reading Bad Words, I knew I had something special on my hands. Ríoghnach has crafted the perfect novel. Parker and Selina feel so real, their chemistry pops off the page and the story strikes that perfect balance between gorgeous, swoony romance and sharp, incisive commentary on the literary world – its conventions, its gatekeepers and the evolving role of the critic against the backdrop of social media.”
Robinson is: “This book is in no small part about the singular feeling of connection that stems from writing – the sense that you’ve communicated something, and it’s been read exactly the way you hoped.”