Legend Press scoops Ringland's 'exquisite' second novel

Holly Ringland © Daniel Boud

From The Bookseller:

Legend Press has scooped Holly Ringland’s "transformative" second novel titled The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding. 

Lauren Parsons, commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, Australia and New Zealand, from Sharon Galant at the Zeitgeist Agency. The novel will be published on 6th July 2023. 

Ringland’s debut novel The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart sold into 31 countries, according to the publisher, and has been adapted into a seven-part Amazon Prime series starring Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey. The series will be released in the second half of 2023.

The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is a "sweeping, deeply beautiful and profoundly moving" novel which follows Esther Wilding in the wake of her sister’s death. The publisher continued: " To seek the truth about her sister’s death, Esther reluctantly travels from Tasmania to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands. On her journey, Esther is guided by the stories Aura left behind in her treasured journal; seven fairytales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body." 

Parsons commented: “Holly’s second novel is an exquisite, beautiful read. From the very first page, I couldn’t put this down. It’s visceral, poignant, at times heart-breaking, but ends on this powerful note that offers hope and strength to move on. It’s a story of family, sisterhood, fairytales, myth, trauma and, most importantly, love.  I am overjoyed to be working with Holly and cannot wait for readers to fall in love with Esther and her family as much as I did.” 

Ringland added: “To have Esther Wilding published by Legend Press, with their incredible passion, care, and skill, exceeds my feverish writing dreams I moved to Manchester in 2009 to pursue. I am so thrilled to be working with the wonderful Lauren Parsons, and deeply grateful to become one of Legend Press’ authors. I wrote The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding from 2020 through 2022, and it kept me believing in courage, joy, love, and transformation. I hope that Esther’s story inspires readers to feel the same.”