News & Reviews

WORD: Debut novelist Patricia Wood hits publishing ‘Lottery’

If you’re waiting for the next big thing in summer reading fare, look no further than Patricia Wood’s debut novel "Lottery," which Penguin Group imprint Putnam launched on August 2. Lottery’s premise -- what happens when Forrest Gump wins Powerball -- is so simple yet volatile it is generating considerable buzz as copies reach bookstores.

Lottery tells the story of Perry, who has an IQ of just 76. When his grandmother dies, Perry is left orphaned and bereft at the age of 31. Then his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket bags him $12 million dollars, and all those family members who ignored him most of his life begin showing up with open hands.

Penguin says the novel is colored with characters both wicked and heroic who leap off the pages, making Lottery a "gorgeously rendered novel about trust, loyalty, and what distinguishes us as capable."

William Morris literary agent Dorian Karchmar in New York brokered a reported six-figure deal for Lottery.

Karchmar told USA Today that offshore rights for Lottery have also been sold in 10 countries, adding that film studios are now showing "a lot of interest" in the story rights.

Patricia Wood is a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii, focusing on education, disability, and diversity. Lottery is inspired by her work, and by her father winning the Washington State Lottery. She lives with her husband on a sailboat moored in Ko'Olina, Hawaii.

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