Bored Gay Werewolf
Atlantic Fiction has bought World all languages to Tony Santorella’s debut Bored Gay Werewolf. Dramatic rights were sold by Marc Simonsson of SoloSon Media Limited on behalf of Atlantic at auction to a major Emmy-winning TV production company. Bored Gay Werewolf sees a directionless college-dropout deal with minimum-wage jobs, lunar cycles, toxic masculinity and the everyday perils of life as a modern werewolf, and will be published in hardback, trade paperback and ebook in June 2023.
Brian, an aimless slacker in his twenties, works double shifts at his waiter job, forgets to clean his room and gets black-out drunk with his restaurant comrades, Nik and Darby.
He’s been struggling to manage his transition to adulthood almost as much as his monthly transitions to a werewolf. Really, he is not great at the whole werewolf thing, and his recent murderous slip-ups have caught the attention of Tyler, a Millennial were-entrepreneur determined to explore exponential growth strategies in the mythological wellness market. Tyler has got a plan, and weirdly his brand of self-help punditry actually encourages Brian to shape up and to stop accidently marking out guys who ghosted him on Grindr as potential monthly victims.
But as Brian gets closer to Tyler’s pack, and further away from Nik and Darby, he realises that Tyler’s expansion plans are much more nefarious than a little lupine enlightenment…
Tony Santorella was born and raised in Danvers, Massachusetts, site of the Salem Witch Trials and related hauntings. He moved to Washington, DC in 2005, where he waited tables until beginning his decade-long career in international development. When he’s not writing novels about werewolves, he’s spending time with his husband Robert and their cat Fannie Mae.
Atlantic Fiction Publishing Director James Roxburgh, says:
‘It’s called Bored Gay Werewolf. Who doesn’t want to read a book called Bored Gay Werewolf. But, if you need more than that, then it’s gorgeous and goofy and anarchic and funny and so smart on the doomsday logic of late capitalism and the nexus of masculinity and sexuality. It’s kind of like Nightbitch meets the buddy-movie joy of Stranger Things. With more sex and ennui.’
Atlantic Books acquires Sir Anthony Seldon’s Johnson at 10
Atlantic Books is delighted to announce the acquisition of Johnson at 10 by Sir Anthony Seldon, the definitive account of Boris Johnson’s turbulent time in office by one of Britain’s leading political and social commentators.
James Pulford, senior editor at Atlantic Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada), as well as audio and serial, from Martin Redfern, literary agent and executive director at Northbank Talent Management. Johnson at 10 will be published in hardback and e-book in spring 2023.
After his sudden rise to power in the summer of 2019 amid the Brexit deadlock, Boris Johnson presided over the most dramatic period of British history in almost a century. From the controversial prorogation of Parliament in August 2019 to the Conservative party’s historic landslide victory later that year, the agonising upheaval of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Afghanistan crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and the series of devastating scandals that were ultimately Johnson’s undoing, his premiership has been more explosive than any other in living memory.
In this gripping work of contemporary history, Anthony Seldon, one of Britain’s leading political and social commentators, gives the first fully insider account of Johnson’s seismic time in office from the summer of 2019 to the autumn of 2022. Based on remarkable interviews with key aides and allies, and full of new revelations, Johnson at 10 is the definitive portrait of the most divisive prime minister since Margaret Thatcher and the latest instalment in Anthony’s bestselling ‘Prime Ministers at 10’ series.
Anthony Seldon says:
‘The premiership of Boris Johnson is one of the most controversial in the 300 years of the office. Visionary or self-server? Remarkable leader or utter incompetent? Courageous, chameleon or charlatan? This book, the seventh in the series that uniquely gets inside the mind and court of each prime minister to reach objective historical conclusions, will be the definitive judgement on Boris Johnson for years to come.’
James Pulford says:
‘With his extensive experience and unparalleled access, Anthony has established himself as the foremost historian of Downing Street and the office of prime minister at work today. From the heady, hubris-filled days of July 2019 to the nerve-shredding collapse in confidence just three years later, this is the authoritative account of the most turbulent time in British politics in almost a century. We are thrilled to be publishing Johnson at 10.’
Anthony Seldon, a former headmaster and vice chancellor, is a historian, writer and commentator. He co-founded the Institute for Contemporary British History and Action for Happiness, is a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a former honorary historical advisor at Number 10, and is chair of the National Archives Trust. He is author or editor of over forty-five books on contemporary history, politics, well-being and education, including The Impossible Office?, May at 10 and The Path of Peace.
Allen & Unwin UK to publish The Wood Life
Allen & Unwin UK have acquired World All Languages rights to England cricketer Mark Wood’s The Wood Life: A Not So Helpful How-to Guide on Surviving Cricket, Life and Everything In Between from Nick Walters at David Luxton Associates in association with James Welch at Quantum Sport. The Wood Life will be published in hardback and eBook 15th September 2022, with a paperback in summer 2023.
Mark Wood is an England and Durham fast bowler. Since making his international debut in 2015, he has represented his country in all three formats, enjoying an Ashes win and playing a vital part of England’s first ODI World Cup triumph in 2019, where he bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament. He has become a cult hero among England fans, his vibrant personality endearing him to young and old alike.
As an England and Durham cricketer who was born, raised and refined in Ashington, Northumberland, Mark Wood’s life has been quite unique. Over the course of his career so far, he’s won an Ashes and a World Cup in an international career that at the time of writing is going on seven years and counting.
Being a fast bowler is up there with the toughest of all sporting pursuits, like being Tyson Fury’s punchbag or working behind the bar during the darts at Ally Pally.
Being a cricketer? There’s nothing like it. And doing it for England? Well, he’s lucky to call it a profession. There’s been a lot of hard work along the way. Plenty of sacrifices and pain to accompany the good times that make them all worthwhile.
He’s been everywhere, from Barbados to Brisbane, Chester-le-Street to Chennai, waiting rooms to operating tables. He’s played in some of the most exotic locations in the world and eaten margherita pizzas in every single one of them.
To be honest, it’s amazing he’s waited this long to bring out his own self-help book.
Mark Wood says,
‘I’ve had a lot of fun and laughs working on this book. My career to date has been full of ups and downs and I always try to play with a smile on my face as I am so fortunate to represent my country. I’m hoping that this book brings a smile to the faces of all the people who have supported me along the way.’
Ed Faulkner, Publisher at Allen & Unwin UK, says,
‘From a truly one-of-a-kind cricketer comes a one-of-a-kind cricket book. Mark Wood is a national treasure and cricket fans are in for a treat in this hilariously funny and entertaining book.’
Robin Ince goes on tour for his new book Bibliomaniac
Robin Ince is back on the road! Following on from his 100+ venue tour for his previous book The Importance of Being Interested, Robin’s back at it again with events for his latest book Bibliomaniac, the perfect read for booklovers everywhere.
SEPTEMBER
27th September
Afternoon: Dogberry and Finch, Okehampton, Devon
Evening: The East Gate Bookshop, Totnes, Devon
30th September
Evening: Forum Books, Corbridge
OCTOBER
2nd October
2pm: Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh
3rd October
Afternoon: Mount Florida Books, Glasgow
4th October
Evening: Newham Bookshop, London
5th October
7:30pm: Our Bookshop, Tring
6th October
10:30am: Dulwich Books
12:30pm: Bookseller Crow on the Hill
2:30pm: Kirkdale Books
4:30pm: Stoke Newington Books, London
7pm: West End Lane Books, London
7th October
Evening: BOOK, Leighton Buzzard
NOVEMBER
10th November
7pm: The Chorleywood Bookshop, Chorleywood
12th November
4pm: Topping & Co, Ely
14th November
Afternoon: Book Case, Hebden Bridge
Evening: Chorlton Bookshop, Manchester
15th November
Afternoon: J E Books, Hull
Evening: Truman Books, Leeds
16th November
12pm: Pritchards, Crosby
4pm: The Reader at Calderstones, Liverpool
Evening: News From Nowhere, Liverpool
17th November
Afternoon: The Book Stop, St Helens
Evening: Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham
18th November
1pm: Quinns Bookshop, Market Harborough
19th November
Afternoon: The Wivenhoe Bookshop, Wivenhoe
Evening: Red Lion Books, Colchester
20th November
Berkhamsted Book Festival
21st November
Lunchtime: Cotswold Book Room, Wootton-under-Edge
Evening: Griffin Books, Penarth
22nd November
Afternoon: Shelf Life, Cardiff
Evening: Book-ish, Crickhowell
23rd November
Evening: Brian Cox and Robin Ince’s (Almost) Christmas Compendium of Reason
24th November
Evening: Blackwell’s, Oxford
25th November
Afternoon: P&G Wells, Winchester
Evening: Hungerford Bookshop, Hungerford
28th November
7:30pm: Topping & Co, Bath
Atlantic appoints Poppy Hampson as Publishing Director for non-fiction
Atlantic Books is delighted to announce that Poppy Hampson – currently Editorial Director at Chatto & Windus – has been appointed Publishing Director for the Atlantic non-fiction imprint. She will take up the role in September, following the departure of Mike Harpley earlier this year.
Hampson has worked for Penguin Random House for over twenty years, most recently as Editorial Director of Chatto & Windus where she published literary non-fiction and fiction. Her authors included Caroline Criado Perez, whose Invisible Women won both the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and the Royal Society Science Book Prize, was a number one Sunday Times bestseller, and has sold over half a million copies to date. Hampson also published stellar fiction such as Emma Cline’s international bestseller The Girls, Neel Mukherjee’s Booker-shortlisted The Lives of Others and Women’s Prize-shortlisted Ordinary People from Diana Evans, as well as further non-fiction, from agenda-setting books by investigative journalist Nick Davies, to food writer Ruby Tandoh, and prize-winning writers Lindsey Hilsum and Caroline Moorehead.
Poppy Hampson comments,
‘I’ve grown up at Chatto, and Vintage, and I will always be proud of the work I’ve done here, and so grateful for the extraordinary colleagues and authors I’ve been lucky to work with. But I am now hugely excited about this new venture, joining Will and his excellent team at this time of growth, and helping to shape their enviable non-fiction list for the years to come.’
Will Atkinson, M.D. and Publisher of Atlantic Books, comments,
‘I am absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Poppy into the company to take on this vital role. Atlantic non-fiction is the bedrock of our business and from where many of our bestsellers have come. By building on our already considerable strength, reputation and expertise in this area of publishing, Poppy’s arrival not merely adds another string to our bow but another violin in the orchestra.’
Atlantic Books acquires The Diaries of Mr Lucas
Atlantic Books is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Diaries of Mr Lucas, a vivid, one-of-a-kind account of queer life in London prior to the partial decriminalisation of gay sex in 1967, by journalist Hugo Greenhalgh.
James Pulford, senior editor at Atlantic Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Eli Keren, associate literary agent at United Agents. Audio rights were sold to W. F. Howes. Translation and adaptation rights are handled by United Agents. The Diaries of Mr Lucas will be published in hardback and eBook in May 2024.
For 60 years Mr Lucas lived a double life. By day he was a high-ranking civil servant at the Board of Trade, but by night – unable to live openly as a gay man – he was a fixture of London’s underground queer scene. He was also an obsessive diary writer.
Starting in 1960, Mr Lucas had a passionate and fraught affair with Peter Byrne, a rent-boy, petty criminal and friend of the Kray twins. Between them, Lucas and Byrne represent the spectrum of gay criminality prior to the partial decriminalisation of gay sex in 1967.
Decades later, while researching a documentary about male prostitution, journalist Hugo Greenhalgh met Mr Lucas and discovered his staggering record of queer life in the capital. When Mr Lucas died in 2014 he left the diaries to Hugo.
In The Diaries of Mr Lucas, Hugo guides readers through Lucas and Byrne’s relationship, and Lucas and Byrne lead readers from the respectable life of an affluent Londoner into the murky world of the capital’s ‘meat market’ and, eventually, face-to-face with the Kray twins themselves. Between Mr Lucas’s heart-wrenching and deliciously indiscreet diary entries, and Hugo’s razor-sharp insights, they uncover a period of LGBTQ+ history that has been written out of the official record.
In 2019, Mark Gatiss gave a sold-out reading from the diaries at London’s Bishopsgate Institute.
Hugo Greenhalgh has been a journalist for more than 25 years, mainly for the Financial Times and now, for the past four years, as the LGBTQ+ editor of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information services company.
Hugo Greenhalgh says:
‘I am incredibly excited to see The Diaries of Mr Lucas make it into print. I knew Mr Lucas – never George, as that would be too informal – for almost 20 years before he died in 2014. He would be delighted to know that his diaries, a vivid record of a lost queer London, will soon be read more widely. As soon as I saw them I knew the diaries were gold dust: a mixture of waspish daily entries, detailing the sex he had with guardsmen and male prostitutes, and photographs, clippings and all manner of collected ephemera; they offer a glimpse into a life led, sometimes literally, in the shadows. But now, as he emerges, blinking, into the sunlight, the diaries will stand as one of the definitive records of queer life in the 1960s.’
James Pulford says:
‘Mr Lucas’s diaries are often very funny, sometimes sad, occasionally sleazy, usually indiscreet and at times outrageous, but they are never less than utterly enthralling; they give an extraordinary, unvarnished account of a London – and a way of life – that have ceased to exist, and they couldn’t have found a better custodian than Hugo, whose intelligence, wit and commitment to LGBTQ+ activism will make this an unforgettable account of queer life. We’re thrilled to be publishing The Diaries of Mr Lucas.’
Corvus signs ‘utterly compelling’ debut The Silence Project
Corvus Publishing Director Sarah Hodgson has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in Carole Hailey’s debut The Silence Project from Marina de Pass at The Soho Agency. The Silence Project will be Corvus’ lead debut for the first half of 2023, publishing in hardback, export trade paperback and ebook on 2nd February 2023.
Carole Hailey completed the six-month Guardian/UEA novel writing course taught by Bernardine Evaristo, who imbued her with such a love for writing fiction that she abandoned her career in law to undertake an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, followed by a PhD in Creative Writing at Swansea University. Carole was a London Library Emerging Writer 2020/21. The Silence Project was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award 2020 and highly commended by the judges.
The Silence Project asks what it would be like to be the daughter of a woman who started a cult that changed the world, and takes the form of a fictitious memoir.
On Emilia Morris’s thirteenth birthday, her mother Rachel moves into a tent at the bottom of their garden. From that day on, she never says another word. Inspired by her vow of silence, other women join her and together they build the Community. Eight years later, Rachel and thousands of her followers around the world burn themselves to death.
In the aftermath of what comes to be known as the Event, the Community’s global influence quickly grows. As a result, the whole world has an opinion about Rachel – whether they see her as a callous monster or a heroic martyr – but Emilia has never voiced hers publicly. Until now.
When she publishes her own account of her mother’s life in a memoir called The Silence Project, Emilia also decides to reveal just how sinister the Community has become. In the process, she steps out of Rachel’s shadow once and for all, so that her own voice may finally be heard.
Carole Hailey says:
“I am thrilled that The Silence Project has found a home at Corvus – the love that Sarah and the team have already shown for it is beyond anything I could have imagined. I’m so excited to work with them to send Emilia, Rachel and her Community out into the world.”
Sarah Hodgson, Publishing Director, Corvus, says,
“The unique and arresting premise of The Silence Project caught my attention as soon as I opened Marina’s submission email, and the novel itself only exceeded my expectations. Carole’s writing has both a simplicity and a depth to it that is utterly compelling, I’m over the moon to welcome Carole to the Corvus list, and can’t wait to share The Silence Project with readers – you’ll need to clear your schedules for this one, because it really is unputdownable.”
For translation, North America and film and TV rights, please contact marina@thesohoagency.co.uk.
Allen & Unwin UK to publish ANNA
Allen & Unwin UK have acquired UK and Commonwealth (ex-Canada) rights to Amy Odell’s biography of Anna Wintour from Paul O’Halloran at Gallery Books/S&S. Anna: The Biography will be published in hardback, export trade paperback and e-book 5th May 2022, while audio rights have been sold to WF Howes.
Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour’s closest friends and collaborators, including some of the biggest names in fashion, journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published. Weaving Anna’s personal story into a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Condé Nast, Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon.
Amy Odell is a fashion and culture journalist. Her work has appeared in New York magazine, The Economist’s 1843, Bloomberg Businessweek and numerous other publications. She is also the author of Tales from the Back Row.
Amy Odell says:
‘After a long and challenging reporting and writing process, I’m thrilled that Allen & Unwin will bring this book to an even wider global audience.’
Clare Drysdale, group associate publisher of Atlantic Books, says:
‘Amy Odell has written a scrupulous and extremely fair account of an underexamined icon, arguably the most powerful woman in media. This is a book which will thrill any Vogue reader and admirers and detractors alike of the fascinating Anna Wintour.’
The Raven’s Nest by Sarah Thomas lands with Atlantic
Atlantic Books is happy to announce that it has acquired The Raven’s Nest by writer and filmmaker Sarah Thomas. Karen Duffy, Associate Publisher and Head of Campaigns, bought UK & Commonwealth rights in a three-way auction from Matthew Marland at Rogers, Coleridge & White. The Raven’s Nest will be published in hardback and eBook in July 2022, with a paperback to follow in summer 2023.
Artfully weaving nature writing, memoir and travelogue, it is a story about resilience and learning to belong through love and language, set in the elemental landscape of Iceland’s bewitching Westfjords.
In 2008, on a short trip to Iceland for a film festival, Sarah Thomas found herself spellbound by its otherworldly landscape. An immediate love for this country and a man she meets there, Bjarni, turns that first week-long visit into a profoundly transformative half-decade, one which radically alters Sarah’s understanding of herself and of the natural world. She finds a place where the midwinter full moon is brighter than daylight, where fierce storms shake iron-clad houses and northern lights pattern the night sky, where the meaning of the word for yes – já – is imbued with ambiguity when spoken on an inbreath. A place in which, and with which, it is possible to think differently.
Cal Flyn, author of the Baillie Gifford-shortlisted Islands of Abandonment, is one of the book’s early readers:
“Sarah Thomas’ lyrical, thoughtful prose takes us on a journey, both physical and emotional, to the far north – a region about which stories are increasingly essential, especially from those who live there. One senses her filmmaker’s eye in her crisp visual imagery, and in her careful portraits of both people and place.”
Sarah Thomas is a writer and filmmaker. Her films have been screened internationally, and she is a contributor to the Dark Mountain journal. Her writing has also appeared in the Guardian and the anthology Women on Nature. She was longlisted for the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize, and shortlisted for the 2021 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize for the proposal for this book.
Karen Duffy says:
“Written in beautifully vivid prose, The Raven’s Nest is a profoundly moving meditation on place, identity, and how we might live well in an era of environmental disruption. I think anyone who reads the opening pages of Sarah’s wonderful book will just know that they are embarking on a very special journey. The landscape, the raven, Bjarni and his family and other Westfjordian characters are captured with a visceral precision. One of the many things I admire about this book is that it seems to come from a place of curiosity and love. Sarah’s relationship to her new Icelandic community is one of learning, adapting, accepting. I am certain there are many readers hungry for a book as original and moving and disrupting as The Raven’s Nest and Atlantic will be doing all it can to get the book to them.”
Sarah Thomas says:
“It has been a richly rewarding experience to work with my agent and with Atlantic, a publisher who has approached this book with such care, curiosity and openness to doing things slightly differently. It was a fated match: following an exciting auction, it was a joy to get the call about Atlantic’s final offer as I sailed, on the North Atlantic, into the village where the raven’s nest of the title is housed. I hope that this intricately woven tale, which has been many years in the living and the writing, will immerse readers as I was immersed, in an unbounded way of being and thinking – one in which we might really live in and with the world, with agency and respect. I cannot wait to share this beautiful country and the lifelong impact it has had on me.”
Journalist and political satirist P.J. O’Rourke (14 November 1947-15 February 2022) has passed away
Our dear friend and cherished Grove Atlantic author P. J. O’Rourke passed away this morning from complications of lung cancer. A journalist and political satirist, O’Rourke wrote over twenty books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, etiquette, and economics, including his two #1 New York Times Bestsellers, Parliament of Whores and Give War a Chance.
Patrick Jake O’Rourke was born in Toledo, Ohio, on November 14, 1947. He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and graduate school at Johns Hopkins where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. After receiving an M.A. in English, O’Rourke worked at small newspapers in Baltimore and New York.
In the 1970s, O’Rourke became editor-in-chief of The National Lampoon, where he created with Doug Kenney, the now classic 1964 High School Yearbook Parody. He was the Foreign Affairs Desk Chief for Rolling Stone, a position that allowed him to expose the hypocrisies of world politics from the Persian Gulf to the Philippines. O’Rourke was also a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, and his writing appeared in publications including Automobile Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Car and Driver, The Daily Beast, and The Weekly Standard.
In the early 1990’s he left Washington DC for his beloved New Hampshire where he continued to write. He was the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me, and editor-in-chief of the web magazine American Consequences. He leaves behind his wife Tina O’Rourke and three children.
Morgan Entrekin, CEO and Publisher of Grove Atlantic said:
“P. J. was one of the major voices of his generation. He was also a close friend and partner for more than 40 years. P. J.’s loyalty and commitment to first Atlantic Monthly Press and then Grove Atlantic enabled me to keep the company independent. For that I will forever be in his debt. His insightful reporting, verbal acuity and gift at writing laugh-out-loud prose were unparalleled. From his classics Modern Manners and Parliament of Whores to How the Hell Did This Happen, a result of his dismay at the 2016 election—P. J. kept providing fierce, smart, always amusing reports on the American condition. His passing leaves a huge hole in my life both personal and professional. My thoughts and prayers are with Tina and their children.”
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