Pan Macmillan Australia has acquired ANZ-rights to Kay Kerr’s untitled adult fiction debut, via Danielle Binks of Jacinta di Mase Management.

The contemporary novel is about; ‘A burnt-out and unravelling young autistic woman moves back home and ruins her family’s Christmas.’

Publisher Alex Lloyd says of Kerr’s adult debut; ‘Kay Kerr’s first work of adult fiction is heartfelt, insightful and cuttingly funny, with the full force of Kay’s brilliant writing on full display. I can’t wait for readers to fall in love with her novel’s brilliant character, Nora.’

Said Kerr; ‘This is a manuscript I have been working on for a looong time—a story of late autism diagnosis, of recontextualising a lifetime of memories, of messy self-discovery, of complex family and relationship dynamics, of Christmas in Queensland! I am thrilled to be working with Alex and Pan Macmillan again, as I know this is the perfect home for a project that is so close to my heart.’

Kay Kerr is an autistic author and journalist from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Her debut young adult novel Please Don’t Hug Me (Text Publishing, 2020) was shortlisted for Book of the Year for Older Children at the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) in 2021, and listed as a ‘Notable Book’ by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). Her second novel, Social Queue was released with Text Publishing in 2021. Kay first worked with Lloyd and PanMacmillan on the 2023 adult non-fiction book Love & Autism, an uplifting celebration of neurodivergent love, the search for it and a deeper look into the lives of autistic Australians.

Binks said the novel is; ‘Something I’m really excited for people to read, and admire how well Kay seamlessly transitions readerships while maintaining the core of her story identity; always telling tales with tender heart, and hilarity.’

The book is tentatively scheduled for 2026 publication.