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I Am Pilgrim… Your next box set?

Want a hot tip for your summer reading? I Am Pilgrim is published in July and is Bantam Press’s blistering new thriller by début author Terry Hayes.

A former journalist and political correspondent, Terry Hayes is also a producer and screenwriter for TV and film, co-writing such thrillers as From Hell and Mad Max.

Publicist Polly Osborn explains why they chose to do something different with the early review copies of this book and what makes it so special.

Over to Polly:

“Often a book comes along and people in publishing get excited. Sometimes a book comes along and everyone seems to be talking about it. Very rarely does a book come along that gets the sort of attention and praise as I Am Pilgrim.

Terry Hayes is a screenwriter and has written what we believe is a standout thriller, a remarkable achievement and a game-changer, which we publish in July this year. Publisher Bill Scott-Kerr says of this book ‘I wouldn’t want to kill it for you but this is the pitch: If you like Homeland, you’ll like this. If you like Stieg Larsson, you’ll like this. If you like Harris, Thomas or Robert, you will like this. It’s an espionage novel, a serial killer thriller, a deep dive into real world geopolitik, it’s a race against time, it’s one man’s life story. It is probably several novels in one and it is never less than extraordinary.’

Before a book is published we produce early copies, called proofs or ARCs (advanced reading copies), which are sent to the book trade and reviewers so we can get everyone excited about it in advance. We wanted people to read this book and wanted it to stand out – but we also didn’t want to give too much away. We chose to go for a cover which featured the redacted documents hinting at the themes of the novel but which also says ‘you’re going to have to read this to find out what’s really going on’. And, let’s face it, no one likes not being in the know…

We kept on coming back to the fact that I Am Pilgrim is so filmic; comparisons to Homeland and The Wire were being thrown around with wild abandon. When we thought about the audience for this book, we just thought of the boxset lot (that includes us!) – the people that get addicted to a world of fast-paced intrigue and find themselves watching a fourth instalment at 3am on a school night. So our very talented Digital Marketing guru, Gavin, suggested we make that connection explicitly and place the proof in a shiny slipcase thereby telling the reader that their next box set was actually a book.

One book but hours of addictive, cinematic enjoyment on an epic scale.”

What do you think? Join the discussion on twitter #thisisthebook.

Keep an eye on Dead Good to find out how you could get your hands on one of these limited edition proofs, and even star in a trailer!

Gavin with his copy of I Am Pilgrim Terry Hayes debut thriller I Am Pilgrim

1 Comment

    Hi! I have been waiting for this book for quite sometime. I am a friend of Terry Hayes , I read an early outline of the book some five years ago…..it was fantastic….I know he has moved rom Australia to Geneva but cannot seem to find him. Might you send my message to him for Terry to contact me? My email is [email protected] Thank you very much! David

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