Ruth Nguyen, an Author Conservatory alumna, has announced her debut novel, The Devouring of Bernadette Quan, with Park Row Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. The six-figure book deal, announced this week on Publishers Marketplace, will be published in August 2027. 

After spending three weeks submitting the manuscript, Nguyen sold her book after interest from multiple publishers. The project was originally scheduled for auction until Park Row made a pre-empt offer. Nguyen accepted and signed the contract on June 8 at The Author Conservatory’s second annual conference. 

Ruth Nguyen is a Vietnamese author of adult gothic fiction, represented by Sarah Landis and Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Three years ago, she enrolled in The Author Conservatory, where she learned writing craft and business skills from world-class industry professionals. She graduated from the program last summer with three completed novel manuscripts. The Devouring of Bernadette Quan was the first manuscript Nguyen completed post-graduation. 

Park Row Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, publishes women’s fiction, psychological suspense, historical fiction, and narrative nonfiction. In Nguyen’s The Devouring of Bernadette Quan, Starling House meets The Menu. It follows a Vietnamese-American chef who learns a dark secret from anyone who eats her food, but is forced to confront her own complicated past at her new employer’s eerie colonial villa in the Vietnamese highlands. 

Nguyen thanked Brett Harris and Kara Swanson, founders of The Author Conservatory: “[I] wouldn’t be here without the Conservatory… I can’t imagine having better people in my corner.”

The Devouring of Bernadette Quan releases August 2027.