It’s an exciting day for Louise O’Neill fans as the author has announced both the title and release date of her next novel.
If you already follow Louise on social media you’ll know that she’s been working away on her latest book for some time, and now is finally the time she can share what she’s been writing!
Following the huge success of her last novel, After The Silence, which is set to be adapted for the screen, we can’t wait to get her hands on anything she writes.
Revealing the title of her new novel today as Idol, it follows Samantha Miller, an American influencer who runs a wellness empire and whose powerful brand as a motivational speaker has won her legions of adoring fans.
Determined to speak her truth and bare all to her fans, she writes an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager, with her then best friend, Lisa. She’s never told a soul but now she’s telling the world. The essay goes viral.
But Lisa doesn’t remember it that way at all. Her memory of that night is far darker. It’s Sam’s word against Lisa’s – so who gets to tell the story? Whose ‘truth’ is really a lie?
Publishing Director Frankie Gray said, “I have loved Louise’s writing for a very long time and it is a huge honour to welcome her to the Bantam Press list. Louise never shies away from challenging topics, shining a light on the darkness that can exist within us, and our society, and blazing a trail with every book she writes.
“IDOL is a triumph: riveting, compulsive and bold. It is thought-provoking and powerful and left me desperate to discuss with others. We are so excited to publish next year.”
Speaking on the novel in a statement, author Louise O’Neill said, “In IDOL, I am exploring themes that I’ve been preoccupied with for my entire career – power, sexuality, consent – but pushing myself further than I ever have before. This book has been both challenging and exciting to write and I couldn’t have done so without the support of my incredible agent, Juliet Mushens, and the extraordinary editorial vision of Frankie Gray.
“I feel very lucky to have found a new home at Transworld and I can’t wait for readers to meet the inimitable Samantha Miller.”
The novel is set for in Bantam Press tradepaperback, ebook and audio in spring 2022.