Divergent author Veronica Roth is back with a new book – just don’t call it romantasy

Roth wrote Divergent over the winter break of her final year in college, returning to a draft she had written four years before, at 18 (though she made significant changes.) Her agent submitted it to publishers, and what happened next is something most aspiring writers can only dream of. Her agent called to tell her that she had secured a six-figure, three-book deal. She was 23, and still at college. How did she feel? “Happy.

Excited. Scared. The happy part was that I wanted to get published.

But the level of intensity was high,” she says. “I assumed the book would be published in the normal way, but the offer was really high – not to be crass, but it was a lot of money. I just freaked out.” In the Divergent series, set in a dystopian Chicago, people are divided into five factions, and they must choose, at the age of 16, which to belong to. Tris Prior, the heroine, chooses Dauntless (the brave). Inevitably, Roth is often asked (including by me) which faction she would be. “Erudite,” she says, “Because I am a curious person.

I love learning. All I want to do is read books.” The success of the trilogy was phenomenal. Allegiant set a record at publisher Harper Collins for a record number of pre-orders – almost half a million. The books were made into three movies which came out in 2014 (Divergent), 2015 (Insurgent) and 2016 (Allegiant) and starred actors such as Kate Winslet and Zoë Kravitz.

Roth was still not yet 30. It is difficult to imagine the life-changing impact of that kind of commercial success on someone so young. When I ask her to describe it, she thinks carefully before answering.