The Full Moon Coffee Shop

Set in Kyoto, THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP is an inspirational novel filled with music, stars, cats, and cakes, for lovers of all things Japanese and uplifting stories with a powerful healing message.

Based on the Japanese myth of cats returning favours to humans who are kind to them, "The Full Moon Coffee Shop" is the name of a peculiar cake cafe that is run by talking cats, which has no fixed location and instead materialises unpredictably on the night of a full moon. The protagonists of this story - a successful female scriptwriter in crisis, a heartbroken tv director, and two male entrepreneurs - all end up there in the middle of the night, in a semi-dream-like state, and receive life-changing advice on love, work, and relationships from a charismatic tortoiseshell cat who interprets his guests' astrological chart.

The Western horoscope comes into play, as well as the life phases, one for each planet, that guide what lessons we have or haven't allowed ourselves to learn. Meanwhile, the customers are served a selection of drinks and sweet treats tailored perfectly to their needs: a Lunar Chocolate Fondant for Aching Hearts, a Planetary Ice Affogato, an Ice Coffee with Sunrise Syrup, or a Bitter Coffee for Mature Souls.

ONE LINE PITCH: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi meets Haruki Murakami, The Full Moon Coffee Shop is set to be an instant classic.

HUGE SUCCESS: The novel was published by one of Japan's largest literary publishing houses, Bungeishunju, in 2020, and sold over 150.000 copies. It was so successful that there are 3 follow-up sequels. The second sold over 80.000 copies.

US AND CANADA: We have sold the US and Canada rights to Ballantine, a part of PRH. They will really get behind these books and Hilary Teeman, the acquiring editor, has a great reputation as a hit maker. It is brilliant to have such a strong partner. They are looking to publish next autumn to tie in with our publication date.

Author Biography

Mai Mochizuki fell in love with Chihiro Sakurada's illustrations when she saw them on social media, and they inspired her to write THE FULL MOON COFFEE SHOP.