Press Release from Harper Collins UK, 12 October :

HarperCollins Sign New Teen Series That Reveals Secret Government Agency Of Vampire Hunters...

In the week of the Frankfurt Bookfair, HarperCollins Children's Books have secured rights by pre-emptive bid in a new techno-horror-thriller for teens. In a three book deal, UK and Commonwealth rights in the Department 19 series were acquired by Nick Lake, Editorial Director, from Charlie Campbell at Ed Victor.

The series, written by debut author and former publishing marketer William Hill, is a non-stop, nerve shredding techno-horror-thriller set both in the present day and in Victorian London, which takes as its premise the notion that everything Bram Stoker wrote is true. Its hero is a teenage boy who, when his father is killed by mysterious assassins, finds himself dragged into a secret agency of vampire hunters called Department 19. Founded by Abraham Van Helsing himself, its goal is both simple and very, very dangerous: to wipe out the heirs of Dracula. The first book in the series is scheduled for publication in early 2011.

Nick Lake said, "Department 19 is a heart-stoppingly brilliant debut that combines the high-tech weaponry and shiny gadgets of the best modern thrillers with the gas-lit atmosphere of the nineteenth century gothic. It's also packed with high action, as well as a startling romance with a vampire girl just as terrifying as she is beautiful, funny and smart. It will be devoured by fans of Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore and the Blade movies just as eagerly as its vampire villains devour the weak and innocent..."