A&U sells ‘Pain and Prejudice’ to US, UK

Allen & Unwin has sold rights to Gabrielle Jackson’s Pain and Prejudice to Piatkus in the UK and Greystone Books in North America.

Published in Australia in October, Pain and Prejudice is ‘a vital and important exploration of the systemic ignorance at every level of the medical profession towards women’s bodies, health issues and pain’, according to A&U. Jackson is associate news editor at Guardian Australia and Pain and Prejudice stems from her reporting on endometriosis.

Jennifer Croll at Greystone Books acquired North American rights to the book, calling it an ‘essential, timely critique of how the medical system fails to take women’s health seriously’. Croll added, ‘Women have desperately needed this book for a long time, and everyone should read it.’

Piatkus senior commissioning editor Jillian Young acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (ex ANZ and Canada). ‘This is a groundbreaking book that needs to be read, re-read, shared and talked about by women and men everywhere,’ said Young. ‘We are so proud to publish this significant investigation into women’s health.’

Jackson said: ‘Over the years I’ve been researching endometriosis and women’s pain, I’ve been in touch with women from Britain, France, Russia, the US, Canada, Germany, Armenia, Nepal, Argentina, Ireland—and more—and their stories have been frighteningly similar. Women all over the world are desperate for more information—for the information contained in my book. It doesn’t have all the answers, but my hope is that is starts a desperately needed conversation and gives many women and other people with female sex organs the courage to demand a better deal. Pain is a lonely place; knowing you’re not alone can be life changing.’

Piatkus will publish Pain and Prejudice in the UK in November 2019 and Greystone will be publishing in the US in fall 2020.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions