Australian author Rjurik Davidson sold his first two novels to Senior Editor James Frenkel at Tor Books, via agent John Jarrold. The world rights deal is for “a good five-figure sum in US dollars,” according to Jarrold. The first book in the deal is presently titled Caeli-Amur, after the city in which it and its sequel take place.
Frenkel said of Davidson, “He’s a unique talent, with a fabulously imagined world that is both enticing and strange, the sort of place that makes one at the same time afraid and excited, thrilling to discover as its many secrets are revealed. Peopled with engaging characters who seem entirely real, it’s a world with a rich, deep history and a strange, compelling destiny.”
Jarrold added “Rjurik’s writing is wonderful. I’m very happy that this marks my first direct deal with a major US publisher. I know that Jim has admired his short fiction for several years.”
Davidson is a freelance writer and Associate Editor of Overland magazine. He has written short stories, essays, screenplays, and reviews. His short collection, The Library of Forgotten Books, was recently released by PS Publishing. His work has been published in Postscripts, Years Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy (Volumes One, Two, and Four), Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror 2006, SciFiction, Aurealis, Borderlands, and elsewhere. He has been short-listed for the Ditmar Award for Best Short Story three times, the Aurealis Award once, and won the Ditmar award for Best New Talent in 2005.
[Edited 8 September 2010: Davidson offers this description of the city and the storylines: “Caeli-Amur: an ancient city perched on white cliffs overlooking the sea; a city ruled by three Houses, fighting internecine wars; a city which harbours ancient technology and hidden mysteries. But things are changing in Caeli-Amur. Ancient minotaurs arrive for the traditional Festival of the Sun. The slightly built New-Men bring their technology from their homeland. Wastelanders stream into the city hideously changed by the chemical streams to the north. In a hideout beneath the city, a small group of seditionists debate ways to overthrow the Houses. How can they rouse the citizens of the city? Should they begin a campaign of terror? Is there a way to uncover the thaumaturgical knowledge that the Houses guard so jealously? As the Houses scramble to maintain their rule, it becomes clear that things will change forever in Caeli-Amur.”