Latest acquisitions: Nonfiction

Hachette Australia announced last year that it would enter a publishing scout partnership with screenwriter, author and broadcaster Benjamin Law. The results are now materialising, with adult nonfiction publisher Sophie Hamley having acquired world rights to Complete and Utter Failure by Kara Schlegl and ANZ, UK and Commonwealth rights to Model Minority Gone Rogue by Lisa Qin, for publication in February and March 2024 respectively.

HarperCollins Australia has acquired world rights to nonfiction work Flying Not Falling by Ginger Gorman, in a deal brokered by Jane Novak of Jane Novak Literary Agency. Flying Not Falling will explore the ways in which women are gradually erased as they age. ‘The observation older women are treated as invisible is not a new one—and plenty has been written about it. This book differs because it suggests this state of affairs as a deliberate erasure—and it occurs when senior women are at their most formidable,’ said the publisher. Flying Not Falling will be published in early 2025.

NewSouth Publishing has acquired world rights to Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower: The letters, edited by Brigitta Olubas and Susan Wyndham, for publication in mid-2024; world rights to ‘a bold new history’ by Yves Rees, via Jacinta di Mase Management—‘a rollicking ride that challenges the idea that men and war made the transpacific alliance’, for publication in August 2024; and world rights to science writer Zoe Kean’s popular science title Why are we like this?, asking questions such as ‘What can scuba diving at Shark Bay uncover about the evolution of sex and gender?’, due to be published in late 2024.

Pantera Press has acquired world rights to Lost and Found: How to wander your way to a better life, a new nonfiction book by Tim Sharp, via Simone Landes at The Lifestyle Suite. The book will argue for the need to ‘embrace the opportunities that personal challenges and hardships can bring to our lives’, reflecting research into ‘the importance of getting “lost” to improve our mental health—whether that’s wandering outdoors in nature or letting our minds do the wandering by accepting negative thoughts and unpleasant emotions rather than constantly trying to fight or push them away.’ Lost and Found will publish in July 2024.

Pantera Press has also acquired world rights to Perfect Candidate, a debut work of nonfiction from Lucinda Price (also known as Froomes), via Claire Harrison at Creative Representation, which explores ‘how pop culture, the internet and modern beauty ideals intersect to influence our bodies and how we feel about them’, for publication in late 2024; and world rights to a nonfiction book by actor, presenter and singer-songwriter Cameron Daddo via Cathy Baker at CMC Talent Management, which commissioning editor Tom Langshaw said was ‘filled with remarkable moments of self-discovery and curiosity about the inner lives of others.’ The book will be published in late 2024.

Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to four new titles by nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo. The first book in the new deal will be a four-week gut repair plan based on the latest medical research and Di Lorenzo’s clinical work with her patients, featuring ‘the history, science and a four-week recipe plan’. The first book will be published in the first half of 2024.

Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to The Secret Landscapes by Clara Brack. Brack’s book is ‘an innovative and thrilling manuscript exploring the lives of artists and doing so by playing through multiple modes (including fiction, biography and memoir)’, according to Upswell publisher Terri-ann White. The Secret Landscapes will be published in 2024.

University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired ANZ rights to an as yet untitled ‘brave, moving work’ of creative nonfiction from Stella Prize winner Sarah Holland-Batt, from Clare Forster at Curtis Brown. ‘In my new work of creative nonfiction, I consider the unsettling question of what a personality is, if it can be changed as profoundly and completely as my father’s was after his brain surgery for Parkinson’s Disease,’ says Holland-Batt. The book will be published in early 2025.

Collections

Scribe has acquired world rights to When Cops Are Criminals, a new essay collection edited by Veronica Gorrie, whose memoir Black and Blue: A memoir of racism and resilience (Scribe) won Australia’s richest literary prize, the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature. This ‘powerful and provocative’ anthology will include contributors’ ‘experiences, whether personal or professional, with criminal behaviour of the police’, said the publisher. When Cops Are Criminals will be published in mid-2024. Scribe has also acquired world rights to 12 Rules for Strife, a new graphic nonfiction work by Jeff Sparrow and Sam Wallman, ‘the perfect gift for politically engaged family members, friends and fellow workers’, being published in time for May Day 2024 in both Australia and the US. 

Upswell Publishing has also acquired world rights to Excitable Boy: Essays on risk, a debut book of essays by Melbourne writer Dominic Gordon. The publisher said that the book ‘tracks the extremities in the life of a young man pushing up against social norms. Gordon’s writing captures exciting moments with a lightness of touch, with humour and finely tuned and vivid observational skills.’ Excitable Boy is planned to be an April 2024 release.

UQP has acquired a new anthology of 25 personal essays from Autistic women and gender-diverse writers, to be co-edited by Autistic writers Jo Case and Clem Bastow. The book will be published in April 2025.

Wakefield Press will publish an as yet untitled anthology of works by First Nations writers, supported by funding from Creative Australia. The editors are calling for submissions of new or previously published work from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in poetry, micro-fiction, short stories and graphic stories. The anthology will be published in early 2024.

Memoir

Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired ANZ rights to an as yet untitled memoir by former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, by Holly Toohey at PRH Australia, and Claire Murdoch at PRH New Zealand, respectively. PRH has also acquired world rights to the memoir of Darren Hayes, the former frontman of pop duo Savage Garden. Hayes, a singer, songwriter, music producer, composer and performer, will reflect on his life story in the memoir. The memoir is due for release in late 2024.

UQP has acquired ANZ rights to a nonfiction book by author Nova Weetman. The as yet untitled book weaves together experiences of love and loss from throughout Weetman’s life.

Affirm Press has acquired world rights to a memoir by AFL Geelong Cats defender Zach Tuohy, to be co-written by sports journalist Catherine Murphy. Affirm Press publishing director Martin Hughes said Tuohy’s memoir promised to be ‘fascinating and fun with plenty to entertain Carlton and Geelong fans as well as anyone interested in the stories behind the Irish players and their contribution to footy.’ The memoir will be published in Australia and Ireland in November 2024.

Big Sky Publishing has acquired world rights to the memoir Easy Target: Battling the black dog by Adam Blum. In the book, Blum shares his battle with bullying and illness and his journey in overcoming the grip of depression, with chapter contributions by other authors. The book will be available in March 2024.

NewSouth has acquired world rights to How to Knit a Human, a memoir from poet, writer and artist Anna Jacobson.

UQP has acquired world rights to the debut memoir Breath by Carly-Jay Metcalfe, via Cameron’s Management. Metcalfe was born with cystic fibrosis and has faced a lung transplant, a rare cancer and every possible serious medical challenge, but her book is a testament to her extraordinary will to live and laugh. Breath is due for publication in March 2024.

Pictured: Veronica Gorrie.

Category: Think Australian rights