News
Harper in heavyweight AJ deal H
WORDS Heloise Wood
ARPERCOLLINS HAS FOUGHT off seven publishers at auction to win world rights to world heavyweight champion Anthony
Joshua’s memoir, Fight. Harper NonFiction publishing director Jack Fogg negotiated the deal with David Luxton at DLA, and Freddie Cunning- ham at AJ Boxing Management, following a “hotly contested” eight-way auction. Fight will be published in October 2018. An Olympic gold-medal winner at the age of 22,
Joshua has since gone on to dominate the heavy- weight boxing division. His victory over Joseph Parker on 31st March saw him claim his third of the four divisional belts, and should he unify the division by winning the fourth, he would be the first man to hold all four heavyweight belts. In his first book, the 28-year-old takes readers ring-side, sharing previously untold stories from his life and explaining the strategies that have made him the champion he is today, a HarperCol- lins spokesperson said. From overcoming difficul- ties in his adolescence “to turning himself into the best heavyweight of his generation, this fascinat- ing, insightful and genuine account reveals the man and his methods in depth for the first time”. Fogg revealed he was “absolutely thrilled” with the signing. “In the past few years, Joshua has distinguished himself as not only one of Britain’s,
Scary to Brutally ‘set record straight’ on abuse in memoir
but the world’s, greatest and most recognisable athletes,” Fogg said. “He has overcome a huge amount personally to arrive at the pinnacle of the sport, and this book will, for the first time, explain the methods and strategies that got him there.” Joshua said of the deal: “This is a project I am
very excited about. I look forward to giving read- ers an insight into my journey and approach to being a modern athlete.”
Kondo cleans up with Bluebird move
Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo has moved from Penguin Random House in both the UK and the US for publication of her second title, Joy at Work: The Career-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, written with productivity researcher, lecturer and author Scott Sonenshein. Carole Tonkinson, publisher at Pan Macmillan’s Bluebird imprint, scooped
UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) at auction, while North American rights went to Little, Brown, also at auction. Kondo’s bestselling début, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, and an illustrated version, were- published by PRH in the UK and the US. Bluebird will publish Joy at Work in spring 2020, simultaneously with Little, Brown in the US. The book aims to help readers “eliminate needless, inefficient and dispiriting clutter in both the physical and digital realms—clutter that not only physically slows us down but provides an endless source of discouragement and frustration”.
Morley makes first buy in new Picador remit
Pan Macmillan’s editorial direc- tor Georgina Morley has moved to Picador to strengthen the imprint’s non-fiction offer, and to that end has signed Kate Teltscher’s The Palace of Palms, securing UK and Commonwealth rights from Clare Alexander at Aitken Alexander. Morley said of her move: “I’m looking forward to merging my history list and forays into narrative non-fiction with Picador’s wonderful voice- driven publishing.”
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Jonasson’s centenarian strolls to Fourth Estate
HarperCollins has acquired Jonas Jonasson’s sequel to the bestselling The Hundred- Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disap- peared (Abacus). Carina Brandt at the Brandt New Agency sold rights to The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred- Year-Old Man to
Fourth
Estate’s Anna Kelly in the UK, Iris Tupholme of HarperCollins Canada and William Morrow’s Katherine Nintzel in the US.
World English rights to publish Spice Girl Mel B’s “explosive and moving” memoir have been snapped up by Hardie Grant. Commissioning editor Susannah Oter signed the rights, excluding audio, from Charlie Brotherstone at Brotherstone Creative Management, to publish in November 2018. The autobiography of “Scary
Spice”, Brutally Honest, covers her journey from a Leeds coun- cil estate to being one-fiſth of the world’s biggest girl band, and her re-invention as a TV star. It will also delve into her relationships with “domineer- ing, controlling men”, of which the author said: “I have kept silent for a decade, but aſter a very public court case, I want to set the record straight… This book will show that abuse can happen to anyone. It is important that my three girls, who I raise as a single mother, know how to break the chain of abuse—along with any other woman who reads this book.”
Bloomsbury bags six-figure débutant Ramos
Bloomsbury has signed a six-figure deal with an American débutant for a “smart, chilling” novel with echoes of The Handmaid’s Tale. The publisher batted off a rival pre-empt just days after The Farm, by Princeton University graduate Joanne Ramos left, was submitted to publishers. Senior commissioning editor Alexa von Hirschberg snapped up UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Sue Armstrong at C+W Agency, via Jenn Joel at ICM, and will publish the novel in the UK in spring 2019. Random House will publish in the US. The Farm explores a world in which women conceive the children of the elite and deliver them at the Golden Oaks Farm, earning a significant payment in return—if they follow the rules. “I raced through The Farm as though plugged in at the mains… It deserves to be a huge bestseller,” von Hirschberg said.
10th April 2018
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