Gillian Flynn Headshot - P 2012
Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn has signed a new agreement with Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group division of Random House Inc., to write a fifth novel.
At the same time, she has inked a deal with Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, to pen her first young adult novel.
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Financial details were not disclosed, and publication dates for the two new works have not yet been set.
The deal with Crown extends her publishing relationship with the imprint. She is already scheduled to write a fourth novel for the company due for release in 2015.
“Gillian Flynn is an extraordinary talent and one of the most enthralling voices in fiction today,” Crown Publishers senior vp/publisher Molly Stern said, adding that the forthcoming novel “will be in the tradition of her darkly brilliant and gripping previous books.”
Added Delacorte vp/publisher Beverly Horowitz: “Gillian’s writing is compelling and thought-provoking and will undoubtedly draw an enthusiastic teen following.”
For her part, Flynn praised Crown’s “smart, creative, enthusiastic” staff.
“They love books and they love writers, and that makes for a ideal spot for an author to call home,” she said, adding that she’s looking forward to writing her first YA novel. “The books I read as a young adult are the books that made me want to be a writer, so I’m incredibly excited and a little bit giddy over the very idea.”
Flynn’s first three books with Crown — 2006’s Sharp Objects, 2009’s Dark Places and Gone Girl, published in June — have sold more than 2.6 million copies in the U.S. combined (including hardcover, paperback and digital editions).
Gone Girl has sold nearly 2 million units in the U.S. across both print and digital formats and was the No. 1 New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller for eight weeks.
20th Century Fox acquired the film rights to Gone Girl over the summer, with Pacific Standard’s Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, along with Leslie Dixon, set to produce.
Flynn is currently writing the screenplay.
Sharp Objects and Dark Places also have been optioned, with Amy Adams set to star in the adaptation of the latter for writer-director Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key). Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) is producing the Sharp Objects adaptation.
