When Rebecca Armitage set out to write a novel about modern monarchy, she wasn’t expecting to be crowned by Hollywood’s bookish queen herself.

But a decree from Reese Witherspoon means the Tasmanian journalist’s debut novel, The Heir Apparent – a bubbly royal romp about what happens when your birthright feels more like a trap than a fairytale – has been officially elevated to book-world nobility.

The novel was announced overnight as the December pick for Witherspoon’s long-running book club. Witherspoon clearly has Australians on the brain: it’s her third Australian selection this year, following last month’s choice of Charlotte McConaghy’s eco-thriller Wild Dark Shore, and Angourie and Kate Rice’s YA rom-com Stuck Up and Stupid, which was tapped as her summer pick. Pip Williams’ historical novel The Dictionary of Lost Words became the first Australian novel in 2022.

“It’s just so life-changing,” Armitage said. “For a debut Australian author, breaking into any market is a huge ask … particularly the US market is really tough; it’s so big and so competitive.”

It’s a far cry from the day Armitage burst into tears outside the Tower of London, an unintentionally on-theme backdrop for a publisher telling her the novel wasn’t commercially viable.

In The Heir Apparent, Lexi Villiers, 29, is completing her medical residency in Hobart when tragedy strikes, forcing her to return to the palace as Princess Alexandrina and become heir - rather than spare - to the British throne.

“I used the scaffolding of the House of Windsor to build the fictional House of Villiers,” Armitage says. “Every fictional royal nods toward a real-life royal.”

The idea struck Armitage as she sifted through the nonstop royal news cycle while working as digital editor for the ABC’s international desk. She became particularly fascinated by Harry and Meghan as they chose to step away.

“Harry’s face always looked stressed and unhappy, and it planted this seed of what happens if you’re a royal, but you don’t want to be there?”

Armitage wrote at night and had finished the novel within six months in a “crazy burst of creative energy”. After nearly a year of rejection letters, an industry event lifted the manuscript out of the doldrums. Rights were sold in Australia, the United Kingdom and the US.

When she saw the US cover – a bright and bold illustration of a crown - Armitage joked it was “giving Reese’s book club”. In a royal twist, hours later she received an email saying the novel was Witherspoon’s December pick. Armitage hasn’t met the actress, but has been working with her team to prepare book club content.

“I think she must just be on an Australian bender, which I absolutely love,” Armitage says. “It just reflects the growth and strength of our literary community.”

Reese’s Book Club, launched in 2017, is now a stalwart of the celebrity-book ecosystem – a corner of publishing that has quietly turned into its own booming mini-industry with the likes of Dua Lipa, Emma Watson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kaia Gerber all having their own book clubs.

Of course, the reigning monarch is Oprah Winfrey, whose 1996 book club started the phenomenon, but in all 120 picks has never bestowed the honour on an Australian novel. Witherspoon and Winfrey endorsements still can push markets, particularly in the US mass retail environment, where Target-and Walmart-level visibility can send a title rocketing up the charts overnight.

In Australia, with a smaller market and fewer big retailers staging glossy displays, the celebrity book club magic is more hit-and-miss. Booksellers say the stickers don’t always fly off shelves (one independent bookseller said it can sometimes even slow sales down).

Regardless, HarperCollins’ head of fiction Catherine Milne said for an author it’s a “life-changing, breakthrough moment”.

“While the direct impact differs from book to book, it generally gives sales a real boost, and, just as importantly, it gives the book the kind of exposure that money simply can’t buy – so having a celebrity book club pick is just as exciting for the publisher, as to the author,” she said.

And of course, the selections catch Hollywood’s eyes. Witherspoon has produced several of her chosen novels, including Daisy Jones and the Six and The Last Thing He Told Me. Armitage says she is currently meeting with producers about screen rights for The Heir Apparent, while she starts work on her second novel.

And what if the royals read it? “I am sure they would probably find it really frustrating,” Armitage says. “But I don’t take a side in any of the family disputes. I see them as journalistic subjects. My goal has always been to empathise with Harry, not to support him, but to understand the decisions he makes.”

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