Australian academic Francesca Haig's debut novel The Fire Sermon is the first in a post-apocalyptic trilogy, due for publication in over 20 international territories from February 2015.

The University of Chester fellow, who's a published poet and short story writer, started a bidding war between six UK publishers for the science fiction epic (HarperCollins signed her), and Dreamworks has already acquired film rights. Based in London, Haig has a PhD from the University in Melbourne in Holocaust literature.