Knopf to Publish New Ian McEwan Novel
Alfred A. Knopf will publish What We Can Know, a new novel by Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan, on September 16. Knopf EVP, publisher, and editor-in-chief Jordan Pavlin acquired U.S. rights from Georges Borchardt at Georges Borchardt, Inc., and the book will be edited by Knopf executive editor John Freeman. What We Can Know will be published in hardcover and e-book by Knopf, and in audio by Penguin Random House. An announced first printing of 150,000 copies has been set.
In a release, Knopf EVP, publisher, and editor-in-chief Jordan Pavlin described What We Can Know as "a literary love story, a murder mystery with a thrilling twist, and a gorgeously written novel about time and memory."
She continued: "The plot pivots on a legendary dinner party, and the recitation of a poem that is heard once and then lost for all time. As the title suggests, the book calls into question the limits of our knowledge about our most intimate companions, and about history itself. How many irrecoverable secrets and stories are lost to the past?"
