Acquisition Announcement: THE NIGHT IS NOT FOR YOU by Eman Quotah

From The Bookseller:

“Wildfire, an imprint of Headline, has snared The Night Is Not For You, a ‘hauntingly dark coming-of-age story’ by Eman Quotah. Senior commissioning editor Areen Ali acquired world all-language rights from Steven Chudney at The Chudney Agency. North American rights sold to Orbit US, which will publish simultaneously with Wildfire on 7th October 2025. 

Inspired by folk myths of a jinn known as Umm Al-Duwais, Quotah’s horror novel follows Layla, who grows up in a neighbourhood where men are continually murdered. 

The synopsis reads: ‘As years go by and more men are found murdered, rumours fly of supposed hoofprints and a woman with hair like black silk. Ambiguous messages left in lipstick and the sweet smell of perfume at the murder sites cause the finger of blame to point towards women and parents to keep their children closer. Meanwhile, Layla grows into the kind of woman she has always dreamt of becoming: A woman with sharp instincts. A woman who cannot be tamed.’ 

Quotah’s agent, Chudney, called The Night Is Not For You a ‘well-crafted parable-like story derived from tales from the Arabian Peninsula’. He continued: ‘Beautifully detailed, especially the scenes about scent, The Night Is Not for You asks whether violence can restore dignity and order to the many women throughout history who have been exploited and wronged by men. It’s a story for every woman now.’ 

Quotah said: ‘It’s a pleasure to work with Areen and the Wildfire team to bring readers a story inspired by folk-horror figure Umm Al-Duwais. In parts of the Arabian Peninsula, she’s half-beautiful woman, half-donkey, with sickles for hands. She seduces men with her mysterious scent and long, dark hair, then murders them when they give in to temptation. I wanted to use her horrifying inspiration to write about a girl growing into a young woman in the midst of modern-day horrors and monstrous violence.’

Ali added: ‘It has been such a pleasure to work with a writer as bold and inventive as Eman. It takes real skill to juxtapose the viscerally gory with the wide-eyed naivete of a child. Layla’s story unfolds with such chilling clarity, and the incredibly original narrative voice that Eman has crafted will no doubt draw readers in from the first page. This is a coming-of-rage novel unlike any other.'”