Press Release
SelfMadeHero, the leading independent UK publisher of graphic novels, has acquired the UK and commonwealth rights to Scott McCloud’s first new graphic novel in almost ten years, The Sculptor, an emotionally spellbinding urban fable for adults. The rights were acquired by SelfMadeHero from First Second Books, and negotiated by SelfMadeHero’s Managing Director Emma Hayley and Holly Hunnicutt, Deputy Director, Subsidiary Rights Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
McCloud is a world-renowned comic book theorist. His graphic novel Understanding Comics, has become the bible for comic book creators. With The Sculptor, McCloud enters a new realm for him – adult fiction. Mark Siegel, Editorial Director at First Second Books, says: “I was inspired all over again by a work that transcends theory and joins the domain of great storytelling. If you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife this book will cast a spell on you.”
The Sculptor finds David Smith giving his life for his art – literally. After making a deal with Death, he’s granted the chance to sculpt anything he can imagine. But now that he only has 200 days to live, deciding what to create is harder than he thought. Worse still, it’s the wrong time to fall in love.
Neil Gaiman has said of the book, “The Sculptor is the best graphic novel I’ve read in years. It’s about art and love and why we keep on trying. It will break your heart.”
Adding Scott McCloud to their pool of creative talent marks another landmark in SelfMadeHero’s enhancing profile. Earlier this year, it acquired the rights to the much-anticipated graphic novel Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of international best-selling Scott Pilgrim series. SelfMadeHero‘s MD, Emma Hayley, says: “The publication of Seconds coincided with a major UK author signing tour, which attracted unprecedented crowds. Within days of it going on sale, it immediately went into a second printing. We anticipate similar alchemy with Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor. I am proud to be publishing this heart-wrenching story, by such an inspirational author.”
The Sculptor is due to be published simultaneously in the US by First Second and in the UK by SelfMadeHero in February 2015 (rrp £18.99).