We’re delighted to officially announce the acquisition of world rights to Gus and the Winter Boy, a young adult crime novel by debut author Troy Hunter, acquired from the Jane Novak Literary Agency. Gus and the Winter Boy will be published by Wakefield Press in September 2023.
Troy Hunter’s true crime buff Gus becomes a detective overnight when he finds a picture of a missing kid online that rocks his world. Together with his best friends, he sets out to investigate a cold case that could reveal the secrets of his past.
‘It’s brilliant to be working with Wakefield Press on Gus and the Winter Boy. I’ve loved reading mysteries since I was a kid, and writing one and getting it published is a dream come true. I can’t wait for readers to meet Gus (and his mates), and see if they can solve the case before he does,’ says Troy.
YA Publisher Maddy Sexton says she can’t wait to publish this fresh new #LoveOzYA voice. ‘I was hooked on this story from the very first page. Gus and the Winter Boy is a cracking story of identity and what family actually means. Budding detective Gus is sarcastic and acerbic, but also endearing and genuine, discovering more about himself amid the chaos of a deeper mystery.’
Troy says of his inspiration for Gus and the Winter Boy:
‘The idea behind this story came to me when I stumbled onto a website of missing children and wondered what would happen if I found my own face there. It got me thinking about identity and who would we be if our identity was taken away.
‘I also wanted queer fat kids to be heroes of their own story, not the sassy friends or sidekicks of the main character.’
Gus and the Winter Boy is due out in September 2023.
Gus Smith feels out of place in the world: he’s overweight, gay, and stuck at home caring for his injured mother. His only real friends are his neighbour Kane, polar opposite to Gus, and Shell, who is dealing with her own set of problems. Gus’s life is flipped on its head one day when he finds a missing persons website with a digitally aged picture of a missing boy who looks eerily like him.
Could he be a kidnapping victim? It would explain a lot about his patchy background, but what would that make his mum – his kidnapper?
As Gus and his friends dive into the mystery, their investigation reveals more questions than answers. Can they unravel the case before his world falls apart? And what will they do if the truth is too much to handle?
Troy Hunter is an adult and YA fiction writer from Melbourne. His work has been published in Visible Ink, Nocturnal Submissions, Outrage Magazine, and Sleepers Almanac. Gus and the Winter Boy is his first novel.