Ted Dekker, the author of over 40 novels including Thr3e, Obsessed, and the Circle Series, signed a multi-book deal with Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. The acquisition signals a growing interest in the suspense category, according to Andrea Doering, executive editor at Revell.
“We publish all genres, but we made a collective decision two years ago to ramp up all suspense acquisitions, including romantic suspense,” she told PW. “You want to publish what people like to read, who captures their imagination, and who delivers on all levels.”
Dekker, who has sold over 10 million copies of his mystery, thriller, and fantasy novels worldwide according to Revell, has been published by Worthy, Thomas Nelson, Center Street, and others over the past two decades. The world rights deal with Revell is for two books with the option of two more by Dekker.
“It was an unconventional acquisition,” said Doering. “Dekker needed to have time and space to write and we offered that flexibility—it worked for all of us.” Dan Rains of Creative Trust represented the author and brokered the agreement.
Book titles and publication dates are not yet available, but Doering hinted that the latest works will be similar to Dekker’s Outlaw series, which is set in two worlds.
Revell published Purgatory Road by debut author Samuel Parker on January 3 as part of its suspense push, and the publisher will continue to sign both debut and established authors in the months to come.
Suspense currently takes up 25% of all fiction titles at Revell, which publishes 36-40 novels a year on average, but Doering hopes to increase the genre's output to up to 40% by 2018.
