Acquisition Announcement: Dark Wakes the Dreamer by Lyra Selene

Orbit acquires Roaring 20s-inspired fantasy from Sunday Times bestseller Lyra Selene

Anna Carmichael at Abner Stein sold UK & Commonwealth rights for two books to Nadia Saward while at Orbit, with Katie Dent editing.

Orbit will publish Dark Wakes the Dreamer in Spring 2028, simultaneously with US publisher Saturday Books.

The book is a mesmerising new fantasy romance of dark dreams and dangerous secrets set in an opulent Roaring Twenties-inspired world, perfect for readers of Phantasma and Alchemy of Secrets.

Orbit also bought the rights to a second standalone from Selene, who is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of the Fair Folk trilogy, beginning with A Feather so Black.

Lyra said: “I’m so excited to be returning to Orbit with a new romantic fantasy containing equal parts champagne, nightmares, and beautiful people making questionable decisions. More seriously, this story is my love letter to all the things I find irresistible in fantasy: decadent cities, dangerous magic, star-crossed romances, and worlds that glitter after dark. I’m grateful to have the chance to share this strange dream of a book with readers, old and new!”

Katie added: ‘Dark Wakes the Dreamer is unlike anything I’ve read before, lush and sensuous with an undeniable edge of danger, and full of characters you can’t help but love – and certainly can’t trust. I’m thrilled to be working with Lyra on this fever-dream of a novel.’

About the author: Lyra Selene was born under a full moon and has never quite managed to wipe the moonlight out of her eyes. She grew up on a steady diet of mythology, folklore, and fantasy, and now writes tall tales of twisted magic, forbidden romance, and brooding landscapes. Lyra lives in New England with her husband and daughter, in an antique farmhouse that probably isn’t haunted. She is the author of the young adult duology Amber & Dusk and adult novels A Feather So Black, A Crown So Silver and A Heart So Green.