The Beat can exclusively reveal that Mad Cave Studios’ young adult imprint, Maverick, is releasing the English-language edition of Heartbreak Hotel, written by Micol Beltramini and illustrated by Agnese Innocente. It will arrive at bookstores and comic shops on September 30, 2025.
Check out the Heartbreak Hotel cover below:
Beltramini, the writer of Heartbreak Hotel, writes and translates books and comics. Since 2015, she has been translating Crepax’s entire body of work into English for Fantagraphics. Her previous work includes the comics Last Goodbye: A Tribute to Jeff Buckley (Edizioni BD 2019), Murder Ballads (Mondadori Oscar Ink 2021), and Anna with Green Hair (Il Battello a Vapore 2022), and her 2008 bestseller, 101 Things to Do in Milan at Least Once in a Lifetime.
“Heartbreak Hotel is the book I’ve always wanted to write,” Beltramini says in the press release. “It holds a piece of every trauma I’ve ever experienced, every tear I’ve shed over every story I gave my heart to, echoes of my past and present life, and all my loves–real or imaginary, platonic or not. And I couldn’t have hoped for a better travel companion than Agnese, since we’ve always inhabited the same narrative universe. She’s the Nana Komatsu to my Nana Osaki! When we found out that Heartbreak Hotel would be published by Maverick, we jumped for joy! We can’t wait to hear what American readers think—and not just the young ones, we want everyone to read it!”
Innocente adds, “Four teenagers, four broken hearts, four stories that intertwine. Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades. Over the past year, Micol and I have been working tirelessly on Heartbreak Hotel: she wrote it thinking of me, I drew it thinking of her. It’s our book, it’s our story. In here you’ll find everything about us, and I think and hope you’ll find a lot of yourselves too.”
Innocente’s past work includes the 2019 comic book adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 2020 YA graphic novel Girotondo, written by Sergio Rossi, which won the Andersen Award for best comic book in 2021. In 2022, she first collaborated with Beltramini, drawing Anna dai capelli verdi, a contemporary adaptation of Anna dai capelli rossi that won the Boscarato Award for best comic book for a young audience in 2022.
Read the official description of Heartbreak Hotel below:
Have you ever wanted to disappear after someone broke your heart?
Heartbreak Hotel knows exactly how you feel, and will do anything to coddle your illusions. But what is the expiration date of a dream? And when you have to return to reality, who will help you put the fragments of your heart back together?
“We’re so pleased to bring Heartbreak Hotel into the Maverick family,” said Maverick Senior Editor Lauren Hitzhusen. “This is a book I think will resonate with young adult readers, especially those experiencing their first heartbreak. This is such a unique, moving, and magical story about learning to grow after your heart is broken and learning to love yourself and your passions again. I’m so excited for it to be released!”
The book is available for pre-order for $14.99 wherever books are sold, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Bookshop.
