World English rights to Abigail Mann’s hilarious, heartfelt novel, The Lonely Fajita, have been snapped up by One More Chapter / HarperCollins.
Abigail was the runner up for the inaugural Comedy Women in Print Prize “Funny Unpublished Novel” Award 2019 over the summer, and the novel quickly gained traction. It was acquired by Tilda Macdonald at Avon in a two-book deal, and is due for publication in Summer 2020.
The story follows Elissa…
Elissa Evans is about to turn 26 – she’s interning for free at an East London dating app called Lovr and living with her boyfriend in a fairly squalid houseshare in Stockwell. Most of all, she’s lonely.
When the app’s investment goes under, and her housemates decide it’s time for her to move out, she has no option but to sign up to ElderCare – a rent-free programme in the community which places young millennials in homes with solitary pensioners.
But Annie is not your classic pensioner – she’s cheeky, rude and got a heart of Northern steel. And she’s turned down everyone ElderCare have suggested until meeting Elissa.
After a strained start, the two women develop an unlikely friendship and teach each other how to find a less isolated way to live life. Elissa’s newfound community inspires a way she can save Lovr from bankruptcy, and when she finds crinkled hidden love letters from a mysterious man signing off as ‘H’, and Annie mentions an estranged son in Australia, Elissa sets about her own plan to reunite them.
Abigail was thrilled: “As of now, The Lonely Fajita has gone through three more drafts and recently I signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins. I’m currently working on edits with my amazing editor, Tilda McDonald, in preparation for a Summer 2020 publication date – a truly ‘pinch me!’ moment!”
Abigail Mann has worked with words in many different guises, from studying English and Creative Writing at the University of Kent, to teaching literature at secondary level in London and Sheffield.
Inspired by the experience of interning in the app industry and living in London in her early twenties, Abigail left teaching to write her first novel whilst working as a freelance editorial assistant. Abigail lives in London, but frequently returns to her homeland of Norfolk.
