Salt signs two-book deal with Rob Palk

Salt has signed a two-book deal with Rob Palk, including a new novel and a reissue of his debut. Christopher Hamilton-Emery, director of Salt, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to The Crowd Pleaser and a reissue of Animal Lovers from James Wills at Watson, Little. 

The Crowd Pleaser will be published as a paperback original in February 2027, while Animal Lovers will be published in the same format in October 2026. Palk’s debut novel Animal Lovers was first published by Sandstone Press in 2018.

His new novel follows Mike Perry, a “stand-up comedian unlike any other”. The synopsis continues: “Sharp, self-sabotaging and achingly sincere, he is trying to make people laugh – and, somewhere along the way, to work out what he actually wants from his life. The Crowd Pleaser is a novel about performance and authenticity, about the gap between the person we present and the person we are and about what it takes – and costs – to make a room full of strangers care about you.”

Palk said: “I’m thrilled my books have found a home at Salt, alongside so many great authors. The Crowd Pleaser is the work I’m proudest of so far, and it’s great to have a new release of Animal Lovers alongside it. I’m so glad people will have the chance to read them and know that Salt will do a fantastic job.”

Hamilton-Emery said: “I’m a huge admirer of Rob’s fiction and I’m delighted to welcome him to Salt. Both novels will extend our comic fiction, which now forms an important component of our developing list. We can’t wait to share the funny, tender and deeply moving tale of Mike Perry – a stand-up comedian like no other.”

For more information, see the article in The Bookseller here.