Acquisition Announcement: Hopeless Necromantic by Shiloh Briar

It’s dead good romantasy: Orbit to publish Shiloh Briar’s Hopeless Necromantic

Shiloh Briar’s debut is a fantasy novel with romance at its undead heart.

Briar sold world rights in three books to Editorial Director Jenni Hill at Orbit, and Editor Stephanie Clark has acquired for Orbit US.

Necromantasy is the new romantasy in Hopeless Necromantic, a romantic debut fantasy for fans of Gideon the Ninth, Long Live Evil or Assistant to the Villain. A jaded necromancer and a demoness with anger issues must quest alongside each other to defeat an ancient evil. But which is more awkward: the gigantic crush they’re developing on each other, or the talking skeleton trying not to be a third wheel?

The story began online, where Briar published Hopeless Necromantic as an indie fantasy novel and also drew viral Tiktoks and Instagram reels featuring her characters. Orbit fell in love with the read, and plan to publish Hopeless Necromantic in Summer 2026.

Shiloh says: “The dream of being picked up by a publisher had died years ago, but I suppose if anything can resurrect a long-dead dream, it’s a necromancer and his ragtag companions. When Orbit approached me about acquiring Hopeless Necromantic, I was speechless. As one can imagine, being at a loss for words isn’t a particularly good look for a writer, but the thrill is almost indescribable. I’m very excited to work with Orbit on bringing these characters to more readers. I can’t wait to see where this goes!”

Jenni says: “I knew Shiloh Briar and Orbit could do incredible things together from the moment I started reading her book! Briar is a huge talent, her characters are incredibly lovable and the romance is good enough to raise the dead.”

Stephanie says: “You’d be hard pressed to find a more delightful read than Briar’s Hopeless Necromantic! Featuring a high-stakes plot, a slow burn begrudging-friends-to-lovers romance, and characters that feel so incredibly alive (which, considering many of the cast are reanimated corpses, is saying something) we’re positive that Orbit readers are going to devour this series.”

About the author: Shiloh Briar is an author ‘who enjoys living in fantasy worlds and chronicling the adventures of characters she has ‘known’ since childhood.’ She is active on TikTok and Instagram, where she draws and paints the characters from Hopeless Necromantic.