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Vikram Seth sequel to be published by Hamish Hamilton

Hamish Hamilton Canada is set to publish the long-awaited follow-up to Vikram Seth’s Commonwealth Writers Prize-winning tome A Suitable Boy. A Suitable Girl won’t appear until 2013, a full 20 years after the publication of its predecessor.

According to The Bookseller, the novel is set in the present day and picks up the story of Lata, the protagonist of A Suitable Boy, who is now a grandmother and whose grandson is in search of “a good match.” (Seth’s last novel, An Equal Music, was published a decade ago by McArthur & Company.) From The Bookseller:

Penguin imprint Hamish Hamilton bought world English language rights (excluding the U.S.) from Vikram’s agent, David Godwin. It is the first worldwide acquisition by Hamish Hamilton UK, together with its newly formed imprints in Melbourne, Toronto and Delhi.

The book will be published simultaneously in the UK, India and Canada in autumn 2013, marking the 20th anniversary of Boy. Penguin also plans to add A Suitable Boy to its Modern Classics list, and republish it in paperback, taking over the rights from Orion. In the intervening years, Penguin will also publish volumes of Seth’s poems and essays.