Pantera acquires Sarago memoir on beauty
Pantera Press has acquired world rights to the memoir Gigorou: Are you ready to redefine beauty? by Sasha Kutabah Sarago, represented by Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Agency.
A former model, Sarago is a Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American speaker, writer and filmmaker, whose 2020 TEDx talk ‘The (de)colonising of beauty’ shared her experiences of reclaiming her femininity by redefining beauty.
Described by the publisher as an ‘intimately fierce, funny and reflective memoir’, Gigorou, which means ‘beautiful’ in Jirrbal, retraces Sarago’s footsteps as a beauty assistant, model and magazine editor and looks at where beauty began over 60,000 years ago. ‘In a time when the patriarchy obstructs women from the divine feminine, and sexism, racism and ageism violate our sovereignty, Gigorou invites us to explore the interconnectedness of Aboriginal culture to resolve our relationship with beauty,’ said the publisher.
‘I wrote Gigorou as a love letter to Black women and my younger self,’ said Sarago, ‘but it’s also a reminder that social constructs are illusions waiting to be reimagined. Beauty is one of them.
‘I hope this book acts as a remedy for healing the wounds we hide so well—an invitation to find your way back to self through the wisdom of First Nations women and culture.’
Pantera publisher Lex Hirst said: ‘Joyful, generous and utterly uncompromising, Gigorou takes us on a journey to completely redefine the problematic, commonly held concept of beauty. This book is a revolution, with Sasha Kutabah Sarago as our fearless guide.’
Sarago is an advocate for culture, diversity and equity in the business, media and lifestyle sectors. She has appeared on NITV Awaken ‘Black Is Beautiful’ and SBS Insight ‘Growing Up Mixed Race’; written and directed the documentaries Too Pretty to Be Aboriginal and InsideOUT; been featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, the Sydney Morning Herald, Frankie and Fashion Journal; and her writing has been published in the Guardian and SBS Voices.
Gigorou will be published in March 2023.
Image credit: David Pattinson
Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions
