Knopf Acquires New Paolo Bacigalupi Novel

Knopf has acquired a new novel by Paolo Bacigalupi, the science fiction writer whose 2009 book “The Windup Girl” sold 200,000 copies and was considered one of the top novels of the year.

The new book, “The Water Knife,” is set in a lawless, water-starved American Southwest in the not-too-distant future. Knopf, the publisher of Toni Morrison, Robert Caro, Stieg Larsson and Helen Fielding, paid an advance in the high six figures.

For Mr. Bacigalupi, it is a leap from a tiny specialty press, Night Shade Books, to one of the most highbrow publishers in the business, with a reach that could broaden his readership well beyond the sci-fi world.

Tim O’Connell, the editor at Knopf who acquired the book, said he had been pursuing Mr. Bacigalupi for years, after reading “The Windup Girl” and becoming mesmerized by it.

Mr. Bacigalupi’s agent, Russell Galen, brought the new book to Mr. O’Connell, who said he believed it would attract a crossover audience beyond Mr. Bacigalupi’s core readers.

The book will be released in spring 2015.