Pan Macmillan’s fiction editorial director Caroline Hogg has bought The Village Green Bookshop by Rachael Lucas from Amanda Preston at LBA Books for UK & Commonwealth rights, including Canada.

According to the acquisition statement: 'The Village Green Bookshop is a charming, big-hearted novel. It is set in the same village as Rachael Lucas’ 2020 novel The Telephone Box Library and features some of the same much-loved characters. It follows struggling mum Hannah Lewis as she moves with her husband to take over the Post Office in the Costswold village of Little Maudley. Her decision to introduce a small bookshop to the post office causes a stir in the small, tight-knit community. But just as they start to settle in, a shocking secret from their past threatens to uproot the new life they’ve made for themselves, and has drastic consequences...'

Hogg said: "Rachael’s last book, The Telephone Box Library, was the novel we all needed earlier this year: inspiring, heart-warming and like having a hug from your best friend. It was a runaway bestseller in physical and ebook formats. We can’t wait to take readers back to the village of Little Maudley and introduce them to some new characters as well as some familiar ones! Rachael is so wonderful to work with and has such a natural gift for storytelling."

Lucas said: "I’m so excited to be working with Caroline and the rest of the brilliant team at Pan Macmillan to build on the success of The Telephone Box Library. It’s been amazing to watch readers take the world of Little Maudley into their hearts and I can’t wait to share another story set in the village."

Preston said: "Full of warmth, charm and wonderful characters, The Village Green Bookshop is a delight and I’m thrilled by the plans Caroline and the team at Pan Macmillan have for it."

The Telephone Box Library went into the Top 20 in paperback in early 2020 and was a Top 10 Kindle bestseller. Lucas writes novels for adults and teenagers including the Carnegie nominated The State of Grace, which was also selected for the IBBY Honor Roll. She lives in the North West of England with her (almost) grown up children and three dogs. She is the author of The Telephone Box Library, Finding Hope at Hillside Farm, Wildflower Bay, Coming Up Roses, Sealed With a Kiss, The State of Grace and My Box-Shaped Heart. Pan Macmillan will publish The Village Green Bookshop in June 2021.

This article originally appeared on BookBrunch.